An illegal migrant involved in a head-on crash that killed an 81-year-old Detroit man remains lodged in the Oakland County Jail on charges of reckless driving causing death.
Richard Antonio Leon-Zghen, 26, is also being held on a federal immigration detainer and an operating while intoxicated causing death charge, according to jail records.
The wrong-way interstate crash is among a long list of fatalities caused by illegal immigrants suspected of driving drunk on America’s roadways.
Authorities arrested Leon-Zghen for reckless driving causing death following an investigation into the March 13 crash on westbound I-696 in Farmington Hills.
The Farmington Hills Police Department Police now believe that Leon-Zghen, who was driving a black Chevrolet Blazer, was driving the wrong way on Interstate 696 and caused the accident.
“While the preliminary investigation suggested that the deceased driver of the van was at fault, digital forensic evidence was identified during the course of the investigation that proved otherwise,” the police department said in a news release.
The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office identified the 81-year-old victim as George Fitzpatrick.
A 911 caller reported the accident shortly after 4:30 a.m. on March 13 between a van and an SUV. CBS News Detroit reported the interstate was closed for about four hours that morning and snarled Metro Detroit traffic.
Officers found the elderly man unresponsive, police said. Leon-Zghen sustained minor injuries. The were transported to a local hospital where Fitzpatrick was pronounced dead, police said.
Based on initial reports, the prosecutor’s office said test results were pending to determine of Leon-Zghen was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash, The Oakland Press reported.
Leon-Zghen was taken into custody on March 17 and now faces a charge of reckless driving causing death — a 15-year felony. He was arraigned in the 47th District Court and given a $250,000 cash/surety bond as well as being required to wear a tether prior to release.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security also lodged an immigration detainer, with bond denied on that hold, according to jail records.
This week, DHS shared news of another recent deadly head-on DUI-related crash in Georgia.
On May 1, Deiby Jhonatan Janamejoy Jansasoy, a criminal illegal alien from Colombia, was arrested for vehicular homicide, DUI, and driving without a valid license after killing a Georgia father.
“Jansasoy illegally entered our nation in 2023, and was RELEASED into the country under the Biden Administration — completely unvetted,” DHS shared on social media with a news clip.
“If he weren’t here, it wouldn’t have happened.”
On May 1, Deiby Jhonatan Janamejoy Jansasoy, a criminal illegal alien from Colombia, was arrested for vehicular homicide, DUI, and driving without a valid license after killing a Georgia father.
Janamejoy Jansasoy illegally… pic.twitter.com/bM1bdz46q0
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) May 6, 2026
Michael Sharpe, 44, died in the crash after Jansasoy’s vehicle crossed the center line and struck his car in Effingham County, Georgia.
His wife, Crystal Sharpe, was on the phone with him when it happened and they have two young children.
“I didn’t know what was going on first,” his wife, Crystal, told WTOC 11 News, adding “When we found out that the guy was drunk and that he was an illegal immigrant and wasn’t even supposed to be in this country, it was even harder for us.”
DHS said he failed to show up to his immigration proceedings and an immigration judge issued him a final order of removal on April 17, just two weeks before the deadly crash.
ICE also placed a detainer requesting local authorities not release Jansasoy without notifying ICE.
The Effingham County Sheriff’s Office said Jansasoy was transported to the hospital after the crash but attempted to leave prior to being discharged. The suspect began acting erratic and unstable once he was taken to the hospital, officials said, “presumably due to being wanted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation.”
In another recent case in Crosby County, Texas, Luis Alejandro Poot-Sosa, 49, was charged with intoxication manslaughter and is accused of running over and killing two women, Yrma Linda Reyes-Chavez, 52, and Irene Ramirez-Reyes, 60. ICE also lodged an immigration detainer against him.
According to local reports, he allegedly got into a fight with people inside his struck and left them on a county road. He returned and struck the two victims with his vehicle. They died at the scene.
Across the country, illegal migrant drivers continue to claim the lives of innocent people. Some crashes, such as Katie Abraham’s death at the hands of an illegal DUI driver who fled the scene in Illinois, make national headlines because her father has been vocal about Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s sanctuary policies.
But there have been countless other voiceless victims, including two young boys killed last month while riding bicycles in Spartanburg County, South Carolina after a suspected drunk driver veered off the road and hit them.
The driver, Eri Otoniel Roblero-Perez, was charged with two counts of felony DUI, open container and driving without a license. ICE lodged a detainer against Perez, who reportedly told authorities he had been drinking for two days and could not hold himself up while responders were asking him questions.
In late March, a couple riding a motorcycle in Arkansas died after a suspected drunk driver turned left into the path of their Harley-Davidson, killing them both. The crash happened around 12:30 p.m. on a highway in Avoca, Arkansas.
Jose Luis Gamez, 45, was arrested and faces two counts of negligent homicide, one count of first-offense DWI, and one count of improper entry or exit at an intersection. Arkansas State Police also reported that Gamez has an active nationwide felony warrant from Los Angeles County, California.
