NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas – Two men charged in a head-on collision that killed a 27-year-old father in New Braunfels are now subject to federal immigration detainers, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
New Braunfels police arrested Rafael Alejandro Arreguin-Ramirez, 25, and Alejandro Aguillen-Acosta, 23, following the Sept. 12 crash in the 2500 block of Farm-to-Market 725.
Investigators say Arreguin-Ramirez showed signs of intoxication at the scene when his truck struck a sedan driven by Alejandro Nunez.
Nunez, who had just picked up his 3-year-old daughter from his father’s home, was pronounced dead at the scene. His daughter survived the collision with a broken wrist and was treated at an area hospital.
Federal Immigration Detainers Issued
According to a news release from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, both Arreguin-Ramirez and Aguillen-Acosta entered the United States illegally from Mexico.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed immigration detainers on both men on Sept. 13 while they were booked into the Guadalupe County Jail. An ICE detainer is a federal request asking local law enforcement agencies to notify federal authorities before releasing a suspect so ICE can take them into custody.
“ICE has lodged detainers asking our partners in Texas to cooperate with us so that these criminals can be removed from our country after they face justice,” DHS officials said in a statement. “My thoughts and prayers are with Alex Nunez’s family, as well as for the child’s speedy recovery.”
Both suspects remain held in the Guadalupe County Jail. According to ICE, both men face charges of intoxication manslaughter, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and evading arrest.
Family Grieves at Crash Site
Police said Aguillen-Acosta was a passenger in the truck who fled the scene on foot after the impact. Officers later located and arrested him inside a garage in a nearby neighborhood.
Following the crash, Nunez’s family gathered at the site on FM 725 to pray and mourn the young father.
“I still, I’m in shock. I don’t believe it,” said Jennifer Edoziem, Nunez’s mother. “My son is gone. I’m not going to see him again... His daughter is going to be without daddy.”
Nunez’s father, Raul Nunez, recalled hearing sirens shortly after his son left his home.
“When somebody takes his life away, that’s very, very hard. I don’t wish that upon nobody, any parents,” Raul Nunez said. “They took my son away, and that’s what really hurts.”
New Braunfels police continue to investigate the crash.
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