An illegal immigrant from Honduras has been charged in a fatal DUI car crash that killed two Illinois residents — one of whom was an elected official in Coles County, Ill..
Police arrested the driver, Edwin Pacheco-Meza, 34, a Honduran national, following Friday’s deadly crash in Westfield, Ill. Authorities said Pacheco-Meza was driving under the influence when his vehicle crossed the center line and struck an oncoming vehicle.
Pacheco-Meza was charged Monday with reckless homicide and two counts of aggravated driving under the influence, according to local reports.
The passenger in the car, Juan Morales-Martinez, 18, an illegal alien from Guatemala, was also arrested and charged with drug possession and a weapons offense.
The crash in southeastern Illinois comes amid ongoing clashes between protestors and federal agents in Chicago over immigration enforcement efforts and Operation Midway Blitz. It’s also once again shining a light on Gov. JB Pritzker’s failed sanctuary policies that protect illegal immigrants while putting Illinois’ citizens in harm’s way.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security launched the multi-agency crackdown in early September in honor of another Illinois resident, Katie Abraham, who was tragically killed by a drunk-driving illegal alien using a fake alias in Illinois.
Regarding Friday’s fiery crash, Illinois State Police said Pacheco-Meza did not have a valid driver’s license or insurance and issued him several citations. Police discovered an extended magazine, ammunition, marijuana and an open container of alcohol in the vehicle.
DHS issued a news release and said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged an immigration detainer on both men at the Clark County Jail, which local officials ignored due to Illinois sanctuary policies.
Pacheco-Meza was denied pre-trial release in a hearing on Monday, according to WAND-TV. He is scheduled to return to court on Nov. 17.
The jail did not cooperate with ICE due to sanctuary policies, so ICE officers waited for Morales-Martinez’s release on Monday and arrested him outside of the Clark County Jail.
“Two innocents were killed because this criminal illegal alien chose to drive under the influence,” said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “President Trump and Secretary Noem have unleashed ICE and CBP in Illinois to restore law-and-order and remove criminal illegal aliens from our communities.”
An ICE spokesperson told WAND News Morales-Martinez is from Guatemala and is “being processed to face immigration proceedings.” Illinois State Police previously said Pacheco-Meza was from Indianapolis, but it is unclear if that is based on his last known address, WAND reported.
Pacheco-Meza entered the country illegally at an unknown date and time, DHS said. Morales-Martinez entered the U.S. illegally in December of 2023 and was released by the Biden administration into the country.
Police reports indicate Pacheco-Meza was driving a Chevrolet Express conversion van when he crossed the center line and collided head-on with a Ford F150 truck.
The deadly crash killed two passengers in the vehicle, Michael Clayton, 71, a Coles County board member and his wife, Gail Clayton, 66. Coles County is a rural county in southeastern Illinois about 45 miles south of Champaign, Ill.
News of the fatal crash quickly spread in follow up news reports and Coles County officials held a press conference on Tuesday.
“Mike always came prepared when attending committee meetings and board meetings, asked good questions and always did his homework before casting his vote,” said Coles County Board Chairman Darrell Cox during the news conference. “I know I speak for all the board members … when I say we respected Mike Clayton and we will miss him dearly.”
Cox previously served 28 years as deputy sheriff and eight years as sheriff of Coles County. He prefaced that he didn’t want to politicize the death of his friends, but that he had been silent for too long.
“I didn’t say anything when the Illinois Legislature passed and Gov. Pritzker signed into law the TRUST Act, forbidding local law enforcement to communicate with ICE and Homeland Security and forbidding local law enforcement from honoring ICE detainers,” Cox said, continuing to cite numerous examples of Illinois officials being soft on crime, particularly illegal immigrant criminals.
Cox called on Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Legislature to repeal the TRUST Act.
“…Somebody has to stand up for the citizens of this county and the people of Illinois and today it’s me,” Cox said. “…I’m going to say what the Illinois State Police didn’t say. Mike and Gail Clayton were killed because of a driver who was in the country illegally.”
Illinois State Police responded to the crash around 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 24, in Westfield, a village in neighboring Clark County, Ill. The Claytons, both of Charleston, were pronounced dead at the scene, WAND-TV News initially reported.
The Claytons were passengers in Ford F150 truck that was hit head-on by Pacheco-Meza’s van. The truck’s driver and another passenger, a 72-year-old man and a 66-year-old woman, also from Charleston, were hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, WICS FOX Illinois reported.
Pacheco-Meza and Morales-Martinez were not hurt. WAND-TV reported ISP issued eight tickets to Pacheco-Meza, including:
- Driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs
- Not driving on the right side of the roadway
- Failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident
- No valid driver’s license
- Operating an uninsured motor vehicle
- Illegal transportation of open alcohol
- Unlawful possession of cannabis
- Possession of cannabis, less than 10 grams
Illinois lawmakers started to make statements as news of another deadly crash caused by an illegal immigrant made headlines. Pritzker’s reckless policies keep putting Illinois families at risk, said State Rep. Adam Neimerg, R-Dieterich, during a news conference.
“This hits home,” Neimerg said. “Two upstanding honest citizens are dead because our insane governor continues to put illegal aliens above law-abiding citizens. Make no mistake about it: Gov. Pritzker and the Illinois Democrats are to blame for this tragic loss of life.”
State Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, also issued a statement blasting Pritzker for refusing to fix “Illinois’ idiotic laws that protect illegals and criminals over citizens.”
“The Claytons are, at least, the 5th and 6th DUI related death in east central Illinois by an illegal in as many years,” Rose said. “How many more have to die before Governor Pritzker stops worrying about being President and starts standing up for the actual citizens of Illinois?”
In response to some of those deaths, DHS and ICE launched Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago in early September. DHS officials said the immigration crackdown was in honor of Katie Abraham, who was tragically killed by a drunk-driving illegal alien using a fake alias in Illinois.
The Abraham family has been vocal about their daughter’s death, criticizing Illinois Democrats for sanctuary policies and failed leadership. DHS also released a video featuring Abraham’s parents in which they speak of their daughter’s death.
In January of 2025, 20-year-old Abraham, and her friend 21-year-old Chloe Polzin, were killed in a drunk driving hit-and-run crash caused by criminal illegal alien Julio Cucul-Bol, who was using an alias and had falsified Mexican paperwork.
Cucul-Bol, 29, was actually an illegal alien from Guatemala who was previously deported in 2016. He fled the scene and was captured Jan. 22 in Milford, Texas, as he rode a bus headed to Mexico, the Chicago Sun Times reported.
DHS said sanctuary policies pose a direct, ongoing threat to American citizens by releasing criminal illegal aliens back into communities across the country. DHS and ICE are restoring law and order to the United States and will not be stopped by activist politicians or sanctuary policies.
“Anyone who is in the U.S. illegally and thinks they can roam free while breaking our laws and harming Americans is in for a rude awakening,” McLaughlin said. “If you are in our country illegally and break our laws, we will find you, arrest you, remove you, and you will never return.”
