Man who died in Michigan crash after ICE stop wasn’t officers’ target

A Guatemalan immigrant who died in a fiery crash after fleeing an attempted traffic stop by immigration officers in Michigan was not the person they were looking for, the Department of Homeland Security said Thursday.

Mario David Coronado Juárez, a 35-year-old father, was killed Sept. 20 in Grand Rapids when the vehicle he was driving struck a tree at high speed and burst into flames shortly after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers tried to stop him.

According to a DHS spokesperson, the car was registered to a different person "with multiple alcohol related driving offenses who is also wanted in Guatemala for a drunk and disorderly charge." That was the person ICE had originally sought to detain. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle to determine who was driving, but Coronado Juárez sped away, the department said.

The department said its officers immediately abandoned the attempted stop "in the interest of public safety" and encountered the burning vehicle about half a mile away. The officers tried to extinguish the fire and render aid until local emergency crews arrived, according to DHS.

Officials estimated that the vehicle was traveling at more than 100 mph before the crash, DHS said. Coronado Juárez…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/