An individual from Honduras, Edwin Alexander Sosa-Gonzalez, 22, has been charged in connection with the death of Tamara Thomas, 33, in a DUI hit-and-run incident that occurred on Saturday in Indianapolis. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Sosa-Gonzalez was driving a gray Honda CRV and was involved in a collision with another vehicle, which caused him to lose control and strike Thomas, who was waiting in a gas station parking lot. Thomas was pronounced dead at the scene.
Sosa-Gonzalez, who entered the United States illegally through Texas in July 2021, fled the scene but was apprehended hours later. Police reports indicated that he exhibited signs of intoxication, with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.229, nearly three times the legal limit in Indiana. He faces multiple charges, including operating a vehicle while intoxicated, leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in death, and leaving the scene of an accident causing catastrophic injury.
DHS noted that Sosa-Gonzalez had previously been arrested by U.S. Border Patrol upon his illegal entry and was released during the Biden Administration. Following a DUI arrest in February 2024, he was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which subsequently filed a detainer on him after the recent crash.
Markwayne Mullin, the DHS Secretary, criticized the Biden Administration's immigration policies, stating that the incident was preventable and expressing condolences to Thomas's family. Thomas's father, Tommy Thomas, expressed his sorrow over his daughter's death, reflecting on her struggles with addiction and his desire to provide her with a proper burial. He shared his wish to scatter her ashes in Hawaii if she is cremated, lamenting that her death was caused by a drunk driver rather than drugs, which he had previously feared would be the cause of her demise.