Trucker slapped with charges in fatal driving incident previously immigrated to US illegally: source
The fatal wreck comes amid heightened awareness and national concern about untrained, unqualified illegal immigrant drivers on US roads
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A trucker who allegedly killed three in a reckless driving incident in Virginia immigrated to the U.S. illegally in the nineties, according to a federal law enforcement source.
El Hadji Karamoko Ouattara, a 58-year-old immigrant from Africa, is being charged in connection with the fatal crash after running his tractor-trailer off the side of Interstate 81 and striking a minivan, killing three individuals, including a two-year-old child, and injuring three others, according to local outlet WFXR.
The outlet reported that the victims were transported to a nearby hospital. 65-year-old Lorraine Renee Williams, 49-year-old Ebony Latasha Williams and 2-year-old Shazziyah Lesley died of their injuries. A 63-year-old male, a 73-year-old male and a 10-year-old female were also injured but survived, according to the outlet.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}WFXR reported that Ouattara was originally charged with reckless driving.
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El Hadji Karamoko Ouattara, a 58-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen from the Ivory Coast, is charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection to a Virginia car crash that killed three. (Roanoke County Sheriff's Office)
However, according to the Roanoke County Sheriff’s Office, Outtara is now being charged with three counts of involuntary manslaughter as a result of the incident, which took place on Dec. 22. The office said he is a resident of Montgomery Village, Maryland.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A federal law enforcement source told Fox News that Ouattara is a naturalized U.S. citizen from the Ivory Coast. The source stated that, despite originally entering the United States illegally in the 1990s, Ouattara was eventually able to obtain a green card and become a naturalized citizen.
This comes amid heightened awareness and national concern about untrained, unqualified illegal immigrant drivers on U.S. roads.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Five mugshots of alleged illegal immigrants accused of deadly car crashes from around the US. From left, the mughots of Noelia Sarah Martinez-Avila, Juan Alfredo Chavarria-Lezama, Lionel Francisco, Mukendi Mbiya and Harjinder Singh, inset over a photo showing the scene of a deadly accident in which Singh has been charged. (ICE, Dane County Sheriff's Office, Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office, St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office)
Earlier this month, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy offered an update on his agency’s work alongside the Department of Homeland Security in cracking down on an influx of illegal immigrants given a non-domiciled commercial driver's license (CDL) without proper vetting, which has led to several deaths on America’s highways.
Duffy sprang into action earlier this year after an Indian national named Harjinder Singh, who authorities said was issued a CDL by California, allegedly killed a carload of people after he attempted an illegal U-turn on Florida’s Turnpike.
Duffy said that DOT has pressed for compliance from problem states offering illegals CDLs, sharing that California has since revoked 17,000 problematic non-domiciled CDL licenses.
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Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy speaks during a news conference in Terminal A at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, on Nov. 24. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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"We are going to use every resource, every tool that we have at DOT, to make sure that we have the right people on our road that are well qualified, well licensed. That are proficient in the English language to make sure we're maximizing safety," Duffy said.
Fox News Digital's Charles Creitz contributed to this report.