A Mexican national with a blood alcohol content twice the legal limit has been charged in a deadly crash that killed a successful realtor and mother outside of Atlanta.
Rodrigo Antonio Rodriguez Flores, of Mexico, faces felony homicide by vehicle, along with reckless driving, DUI, speeding and an open container charge in Gwinnett County, Georgia.
He is accused of speeding and driving drunk when he collided with a car driven by Alicia Thomas on April 26. However, it took Gwinnett County police three weeks to issue an arrest warrant for Flores and local news outlets didn’t mention his immigration status.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged a detainer against Flores on May 21 after he was arrested in connection with the deadly accident.
April 26th: Rodrigo Antonio Rodriguez Flores has been arrested for Homicide by Vehicle and DUI and is accused of driving about 70mph in a 40mph zone before the accident, which killed Alicia Thomas. Police say Flores BAC was .119, more than double the legal limit.
Alicia Thomas,… pic.twitter.com/qZq2VSpaZC
— Wid Lyman (@Wid_Lyman) June 15, 2026
Flores’ BAC test came back at 0.119, police said, about one and a half times the legal limit. Investigators also said Flores was going 30 miles per hour over the posted speed limit and there was no evidence he attempted to brake.
Thomas, 42, was a real estate agent in Atlanta and the mother of a 13-year-old child. She had just left a celebration with her friend and died less than a mile from home.
“By all accounts, she was a popular real estate agent in Atlanta, where she’d worked for almost a decade — but her life was cut short in a preventable tragedy,” said acting ICE Director David J. Venturella. “Illegal immigration is a not a victimless crime, as evidenced by this horrific event. ICE will not rest until all removable aliens are removed from our country.”
🚨 Gwinnett County, GA: Rodrigo Antonio Rodriguez Flores, who has been arrested and accused of the DUI crash homicide of Alicia Thomas, has been confirmed as an illegal alien. https://t.co/1yNHiDSCtu pic.twitter.com/EbiINAVP2g
— Illegal Alien Crimes (@ImmigrantCrimes) June 13, 2026
Her best friend, Brenda Conley, spoke to WSB-TV Atlanta about the senseless tragedy and the devastating impact on Thomas’ son, her only child.
“He’s 13 and he doesn’t have his mom because somebody decided they were going to drink and drive,” Conley said, adding “She is just a light. Never negative energy, always positive.”
Thomas died in the three-car crash after she attempted to turn and Flores’ truck ran into her car.
The intersection is known for fatal crashes, but investigators released more information about Flores’ negligence at a June 12 court hearing, per WSB-TV.
BAC testing determined he was driving well over Georgia’s legal limit of .08, police said. Officers also found an open beer can on the truck’s floorboard and smelled alcohol on Flores at the scene.
In addition, investigators determined Flores was driving around 75 mph in a 40-mph zone based on the truck’s own data and the crash reconstruction’s findings.
“If he wasn’t speeding, the driver of the (victim’s vehicle) would’ve made it through the left turn,” Officer J. Portugal-Mejia with Gwinnett County police testified.
There were no skid marks at the scene, Portugal-Mejia said. A drone mapped the crash down to the centimeter and found no sign Flores ever braked.
Flores is lodged in the Gwinnett County Jail and should remain there pending his criminal court proceedings or be transferred to ICE custody.
In many jurisdictions, ICE will lodge an immigration detainer against a suspect but local authorities ignore it and release them on bail.
A 2024 Georgia state law prohibits all local governments from creating sanctuary policies.
“Unlike sanctuary jurisdiction officials across the nation, Gwinnett County Sheriff Keybo Taylor honors ICE detainers, so Rodriguez Flores will not be released into the community before he faces justice,” ICE officials said.
