The driver of a minivan that caused a deadly school bus crash in Clark County, Ohio last week resides in the United States illegally, according to multiple reports.
Hermanio Joseph, 35, from Haiti, was charged with aggravated vehicular homicide in Clark County Municipal Court for the incident that occurred on Aug. 22. Joseph was reportedly driving a Honda Odyssey when he drove left of the center line and collided with a Northwestern Local Schools bus that was filled with more than 50 children on their way for the first day of school.
The bus flipped over and an 11-year-old child, Aiden James Clark, was ejected from the vehicle and died on the scene. Another child sustained life-threatening injuries. Dozens more were hospitalized with injuries, according to the Springfield News-Sun.
“The crash was a result of (Joseph) driving left of center, striking the school bus, forcing it off the roadway, down an embankment where it overturned and came to final rest,” a court document reportedly stated.
Joseph reportedly gave authorities an Ohio Identification Card, which is not a driver’s license, and driver’s license from Mexico, which was invalid due to his immigration status.
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson confirmed to Breitbart that Joseph arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border in August 2022. Then, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued him a Notice To Appear (NTA) in federal immigration court. He was reportedly released into the U.S. and ended up in Ohio (via Breitbart):
National Immigration Center for Enforcement (NICE) advisory board member John Fabbricatore told Breitbart News that President Joe Biden’s expansive Catch and Release network at the border is ultimately responsible.
“The Biden administration’s ‘welcome and release’ agenda continues to put our communities at risk,” Fabbricatore, a former senior ICE official, said. “Their goal is to let in as many poorly vetted illegal aliens as possible, often without proper GPS tracking or scheduled court appearances. When will this administration put public safety first, or is mass migration more important?”
Following his arrest for killing Aiden, ICE agents placed a detainer on Joseph requesting custody of him if he is released from Clark County custody at any time.
The Washington Examiner pointed out that Joseph’s situation “is significant because it shows Joseph had lived in Mexico long enough, and gained sufficient legal status in that country, to obtain a valid Mexican driver's license.”
“Joseph was apparently living comfortably enough in Mexico for long enough that he could afford a driver's license. This is not a migrant who recently fled Haiti and could not find a place to live in another country. He was living comfortably in Mexico. He has no right to enter the U.S. and stay here forever.”