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Family says Urbana teen died after high-speed rear-end crash; commenters call for stronger border enforcement
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Summary
During public comments, family members described the death of a teenager named Katie in a high-speed rear-end crash and said the driver was an undocumented immigrant who had been deported in 2016; speakers urged stricter border enforcement and called for Katie's story to prompt change.
A family member told a public meeting that a teenager identified only as Katie died after a vehicle struck the rear driver's side of the car she was in “at almost 80 miles an hour” while stopped at a traffic signal. Resident, a family member of the victim, said Katie died at the scene and a friend died later in the hospital.
The family member described Katie as “very spirited” and “very engaging,” and said she had been especially perceptive even as a young child: “Her sense of humor was incredible. Her wit was so sharp.”
Another resident said the family learned two days after the crash that the driver who struck the vehicle was an undocumented immigrant. “We didn't know that the person who killed Katie was an illegal immigrant until Tuesday,” the second resident said, adding that authorities at the Urbana Police Department provided information as they were able to obtain it.
The family member said the person who hit Katie had been deported in 2016 and, as another speaker put it, “came back using a fake alias.” The second resident said the suspect fled the scene and within about a day and a half was “almost at the Mexico border.”
Speakers at the meeting linked Katie's death to broader immigration enforcement issues. “Here's a guy that wasn't productive, wasn't a good citizen ... and his first instinct was to get out of the car and run,” the first resident said. “So to me, these are not the productive folks we wanna bring in the country.”
The family member said the crash has left the family grieving and questioned the protections afforded by due process for people who enter or reenter the country unlawfully: “When you talk about due process, I wish she was in another country or in some detention center I can go see her, but she's not, and I'll never see her again.”
Meeting speakers praised the Urbana Police Department for providing information when it was available but said the suspect’s immediate whereabouts were unknown after the crash. The comments were made during the meeting’s public-comment period and did not propose or adopt any official local policies or actions during the session.
Family members ended by saying they want Katie's story to prompt change so other families do not suffer similarly. “It's important for us to continue to tell Katie's story. We want change to happen so that other families don't have to deal with this,” one resident said.
