An illegal immigrant faces up to 15 years in prison after authorities allege she killed a 12-year-old on a scooter in August while driving in Kentwood, then lied about it.
Magdalena Vail Molina, 43, faces charges of driving on a suspended, revoked or denied license causing death, as well as lying to police, the former a 15-year felony, the latter a 2-year misdemeanor, WOOD reports.
Kent County Jail records show Molina was arrested on Nov. 26 and is currently in custody with a detainer from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is typically reserved for folks facing deportation.
🚨 Kent County, MI: Magdalena Vail Molina has been charged with Operating Vehicle Without a License – Causing Death.
She has an immigration detainer hold.
Molina is accused of hitting 12-year-old Isaac Michael Rose, who was riding scooters with his brother. He died four days… pic.twitter.com/EoZoEKvVT0
— Illegal Alien Crimes (@ImmigrantCrimes) December 21, 2025
Authorities allege Molina was driving near the intersection of Poinsettia Avenue and Edsel Street SE on Aug. 17, when she struck 12-year-old Fruitport Middle School student Isaac Michael Rose in the intersection.
Rose was allegedly riding an electric scooter with his brother when he missed a yield sign and was struck by Molina’s vehicle. Isaac’s mother, Amanda Rose, told WOOD that Molina acknowledged Isaac’s brother as he crossed Poinsettia safely, and it’s not clear why she failed to notice Isaac following behind.
“He was out on a nice scooter ride with his brother, being a kid,” Rose said. “(When) all of our lives changed in a second in a very tight, family subdivision where Isaac thought he was safe. We just want families to explain to their kids to always, always pay super attention, to 100% always follow the road signs even though the area should be safe.”
Molina initially told responding officers her daughter, a passenger in the vehicle, was driving, but the evidence suggested otherwise, according to court records.
“In a later interview on the scene Magdalena admitted to officers that she was driving,” the probable cause affidavit read.
“On the day of the crash, Magdalena did not have a valid driver’s license,” an officer wrote. “Magdalena struck Isaac while driving without a valid driver’s license and then initially lied to police officers about the incident.”
“My son was so loving and caring and funny with a beautiful smile, so many beautiful freckles,” Rose told MLive. “Isaac would give the shift off his back to anyone.”
Molina’s attorney, Cody Walker, wrote in a statement to WOOD he’s convinced his client “will be ultimately proven innocent.”
“I would remind the public that despite what comes out in the media, in the eyes of the law, Ms. Molina is innocent as she sits, until the State proves her guilty by either plea or at trial,” Walker said. “I would ask further they always seek more information and question the facts as they are presented, remaining skeptical until the case has been presented to a jury or a plea has been entered.”
The case is one of several involving illegal immigrants causing death to Michiganders in recent years.
In March 2024, Mexican national Brandon Ortiz-Vite, 25, shot and killed Grand Rapids’ Ruby Garcia, 25, inside the woman’s vehicle alongside U.S. 31, before dumping her body on the highway and fleeing the scene in her car.
Ortiz-Vite was sentenced to 39 years in prison in November 2024.
That murder followed another in Grand Rapids in May 2023 involving illegal immigrant Luis Bernal-Sosa, who gunned down the mother of his young child, 22-year-old Leah Gomez, while she was sitting in her car with the child in the back seat. Bernal-Sosa, also a Mexican national, was sentenced to life in prison with no option for parole in April.
In May 2024, authorities allege Louis Angel Otanez-Castillo was driving a Honda Pilot that was caught on video going 70 miles per hour down South Division Avenue in Grand Rapids, just before striking 53-year-old Robert Delgado at roughly 45 miles per hour in the 30 miles per hour zone.
Evidence put Otanez-Castillo, an illegal immigrant from the Dominican Republic with a pending deportation order, at Le Petit Chateau sports bar shortly before the deadly crash, though Otanez-Castill fled the scene.
Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker charged Otanez-Castillo with two 15-year felonies: reckless driving causing death, and failing to stop at the scene of an accident resulting in death, though there’s no indication police ever arrested the suspect.
Last November, 72-year-old Rochester Hills pastor Stephen Singleton was also struck and killed by an illegal immigrant motorist from Columbia.
Jhadiel Portilla, 28, the alleged driver, was deported to Columbia in February, about seven months before he was eventually charged with moving violation causing death and possession of a forged license plate in September, WJBK reports.
