A Venezuelan migrant who was driving with a canceled license has been jailed after striking and killing an 82-year-old grandmother in a grocery store parking lot in Florida, police said.
The driver, Carlos Suarez-Contreras, 26, was arrested and charged with driving with a canceled license and causing a death, a third-degree felony, but he entered a plea of not guilty.
The pedestrian who died, Deborah Murphy, touched many lives as an amazing friend, teacher, mother and grandmother, according to her family.
She is yet another senseless victim of reckless open border policies and the death toll keeps climbing. The beloved grandma died while going about her daily routine and walking back to her car after grocery shopping.
SAY HER NAME: Deborah Murphy
82-year-old grandmother killed in Florida after she was run over by Carlos Suarez-Contreras, an ILLEGAL ALIEN.
Democrats are protesting to protect him.
Let that sink in. pic.twitter.com/pQSgYiDNZf
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 27, 2026
“We’re determined to find justice and see Suarez-Contreras held accountable for his reckless actions,” Murphy’s twin daughters, Beth Schulz and Amy Edge, told Fox News.
The vehicle-pedestrian accident occurred on May 17 in Panama City Beach, Florida.
Murphy was walking back to her car on a crosswalk outside a Publix in Panama City Beach when the driver of the 4Runner backed into her.
She fell to the ground and the vehicle continued backing up, “running over Ms. Murphy,” according to an arrest affidavit submitted by the Florida Highway Patrol.
Police later determined the two men in the 4Runner, Suarez-Contreras and his passenger, Luis Sanabria, 29, are from Venezuela and entered the country illegally, according to arrest records.
Suarez-Contreras’ Georgia license had been canceled. The Georgia Department of Driver Services declined to tell Fox News when or why it was canceled.
Murphy was taken to the hospital and died from her injuries, police said. Now, her family has been left reeling and determined to seek justice.
Murphy was married to retired Air Force Col. George Murphy. Her family described her as “vibrant” and “a light,” saying they had many more memories to be made, Fox News reported.
A responding deputy said that Suarez-Contreras gave “suspicious” answers to his questions following the crash.
Sanabria reportedly left the scene on foot before police arrived and only returned when the deputy had Suarez-Contreras call him, according to the police report.
During an interview with police, Sanabria later gave sworn testimony that Suarez-Contreras “was operating the vehicle at the time of the crash.”
The two men told deputies they were born in Venezuela. They had immigration detainers lodged against them after being booked into the Bay County Sheriff’s Office Jail, court records indicate.
Authorities said Sanabria had an expired visa and was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Suarez-Contreras is scheduled to be arraigned on Aug. 17 at the Bay County Courthouse in Panama City, Florida.
Florida law bars an illegal immigrant from obtaining a state-issued driver’s license. However, 19 states and the District of Columbia issue licenses to “unauthorized residents,” including illegal immigrants.
About 16% of fatal traffic crashes in the United States involved drivers with invalid licenses in 2024, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
And that’s not counting the traffic fatalities caused by illegal immigrant truck drivers who have been issued commercial drivers licenses without English proficiency or the ability to read road signs.
