Undocumented immigrant denies driving car in crash that killed Colts player Edwin Jackson: ‘I don’t know why I am here’

New York Daily News, The (NY)

Feb. 06--An undocumented immigrant accused of killing an NFL player and an Uber driver in a drunken driving crash says he was not behind the wheel.

Manuel Orrego-Savala remained jailed Tuesday but has not been formally charged in Sunday's crash along a highway in Indianapolis that took the lives of Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson and 54-year-old Jeffrey Monroe.

The 26-year-old Jackson and Monroe were standing outside the Uber vehicle after the NFL player became ill. Cops say both men were struck and killed by a pickup truck driven by Orrego-Savala, who was drunk and driving without a license, authorities allege.

A breath test found that Orrego-Savala's blood-alcohol content was nearly 0.24%, three times Indiana's legal limit of 0.08%, according to an affidavit.

Orrego-Savala told an Indianapolis judge Tuesday, through an interpreter: "I wasn't driving the car. I don't know why I am here."

He was set to appear in court again on Wednesday.

The Guatemala citizen, who gave officers a fake name, was deported in 2007 and 2009 and was again living illegally in the U.S., according to police.

The suspect is listed in court records as Alex Cabrera, according to local media outlets.

President Trump tweeted about Jackson's death early Tuesday, writing, "So disgraceful that a person illegally in our country killed @Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson. This is just one of many such preventable tragedies. We must get the Dems to get tough on the Border, and with illegal immigration, FAST!"

Trump also offered his "prayers and best wishes" to Jackson's family.

The President has often pointed to crimes connected to illegal immigration as evidence that the U.S. needs to build a wall. He has threatened to withhold funding to cities with sanctuary city policies.

Indiana Rep. Todd Rokita, a Republican, said that "the loss of life at the hands of illegal immigrant criminals should make all Hoosiers sad and ultimately angry."

The tragedy emphasizes the need for building a border wall, "ending sanctuary cities and stopping illegal immigration once and for all," Rokita said in a statement.

The 37-year-old Orrego-Savala was convicted in 2005 for driving under the influence in California.

With News Wire Services

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