Track Star Killed By Suspected Drunk Driver (illegal)

NASHVILLE, Tenn.- A Tennessee State University student died Saturday when another driver broadsided her vehicle on Old Hickory Boulevard.

Metro police said 24-year-old Victor Benitez was drunk as he ran a red light at the intersection of Old Hickory Boulevard and Nolensville Road, killing 22-year-old Joycelyn Gardiner.

"Just a tremendous young lady, from all accounts, who had all types of potential," said Don Aaron, Metro police spokesman.

"According to the witnesses who attempted to render aid to both victims, Benitez smelled strongly of alcohol and was very combative," Aaron said.

Investigators said Benitez was drunk and he didn't touch the brakes of his Ford Expedition before hitting Gardiner's car. She died a short time later at the hospital.

"Because of this crash, that apparently involves alcohol, by the other driver, her life is lost," Aaron said.

Police said Benitez was driving without a license and that he didn't have paperwork verifying that he was in the United States legally.

"They learned that he is a suspected illegal immigrant, thus, a federal hold was placed on him so he cannot make bond," Aaron said.

In February 2006, Benitez was convicted of car burglary. Nine months later, he spent seven days in jail for public intoxication and resisting arrest. The Mexican native now faces a vehicular homicide charge.

Gardiner ran track for the Tigerbelles. She was going to in August. Now, her friends remember her and mourn her death. On Gardiner's MySpace page, friends left heartfelt messages.

Authorities realized Benitez's possible illegal status thanks to a new program that links into the federal data base.

Illegal aliens murder 25 Americans daily
Death toll in 2006 far overshadows total
U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq, Afghanistan
________________________________________
By Joseph Farah
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com November 28, 2006

WASHINGTON – While the military “quagmire” in Iraq was said to tip the scales of power in the U.S. midterm elections, most Americans have no idea more of their fellow citizens – men, women and children – were murdered this year by illegal aliens than the combined death toll of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan since those military campaigns began.
Though no federal statistics are kept on murders or any other crimes committed by illegal aliens, a number of groups have produced estimates based on data collected from prisons, news reports and independent research.
Twelve Americans are murdered every day by illegal aliens, according to statistics released by Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa. If those numbers are correct, it translates to 4,380 Americans murdered annually by illegal aliens. That’s 21,900 since Sept. 11, 2001.
Total U.S. troop deaths in Iraq as of last week were reported at 2,863. Total U.S. troop deaths in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan during the five years of the Afghan campaign are currently at 289, according to the Department of Defense.
But the carnage wrought by illegal alien murderers represents only a fraction of the pool of blood spilled by American citizens as a result of an open border and un-enforced immigration laws.
While King reports 12 Americans are murdered daily by illegal aliens, he says 13 are killed by drunk illegal alien drivers – for another annual death toll of 4,745. That’s 23,725 since Sept. 11, 2001.
While no one – in or out of government – tracks all U.S. accidents caused by illegal aliens, the statistical and anecdotal evidence suggests many of last year’s 42,636 road deaths involved illegal aliens.
A report by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Study found 20 percent of fatal accidents involve at least one driver who lacks a valid license. In California, another study showed that those who have never held a valid license are about five times more likely to be involved in a fatal road accident than licensed drivers.
Statistically, that makes them an even greater danger on the road than drivers whose licenses have been suspended or revoked – and nearly as dangerous as drunk drivers.
King also reports eight American children are victims of sexual abuse by illegal aliens every day – a total of 2,920 annually.
Based on a one-year in-depth study, Deborah Schurman-Kauflin of the Violent Crimes Institute of Atlanta estimates there are about 240,000 illegal immigrant sex offenders in the United States who have had an average of four victims each. She analyzed 1,500 cases from January 1999 through April 2006 that included serial rapes, serial murders, sexual homicides and child molestation committed by illegal immigrants.
As the number of illegal aliens in the U.S. increases, so does the number of American victims.
According to Edwin Rubenstien, president of ESR Research Economic Consultants, in Indianapolis in 1980, federal and state correctional facilities held fewer than 9,000 criminal aliens. But at the end of 2003, approximately 267,000 illegal aliens were incarcerated in all U.S. jails and prisons.
While the federal government doesn’t track illegal alien murders, illegal alien rapes or illegal alien drunk driving deaths, it has studied illegal aliens incarcerated in U.S. prisons.
In April 2005, the Government Accountability Office released a report on a study of 55,322 illegal aliens incarcerated in federal, state, and local facilities during 2003. It found the following:
• The 55,322 illegal aliens studied represented a total of 459,614 arrests – some eight arrests per illegal alien;
• Their arrests represented a total of about 700,000 criminal offenses – some 13 offenses per illegal alien;
• 36 percent had been arrested at least five times before.
“While the vast majority of illegal aliens are decent people who work hard and are only trying to make a better life for themselves and their families, (something you or I would probably do if we were in their place), it is also a fact that a disproportionately high percentage of illegal aliens are criminals and sexual predators,” states Peter Wagner, author of a new report called “The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration.” “That is part of the dark side of illegal immigration and when we allow the ‘good’ in we get the ‘bad’ along with them. The question is, how much ‘bad’ is acceptable and at what price?”

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.