An illegal immigrant who received positive press coverage during his fight against deportation earlier this year, struck and killed a father of five in Colorado on Aug. 2 while driving without a license.
According to press reports, Miguel Ramirez Valiente was charged with careless driving with a revoked license after he swerved his truck while driving on a state highway near Colorado Springs, hitting Sean Buchanan.
Buchanan was riding a motorcycle when he was hit by Ramirez Valiente, who came to the United States from El Salvador 14 years ago.
Ramirez Valiente has several prior charges on his arrest record.
According to Denver’s ABC news affiliate, The Denver Channel, Ramirez Valiente was charged with reckless endangerment in 2011 and domestic violence in 2016. Both cases were dismissed by the El Paso County district attorney.
Last year, Ramirez Valiente’s driver’s license was revoked after he pleaded guilty to a charge of driving under the influence, according to The Denver Channel. His probation for that charge was extended Aug. 1, a day before he killed Buchanan, because he had not finished his community service and therapy for alcoholism.
It is not clear if Ramirez Valiente was inebriated when he struck Buchanan, but a close acquaintance of his said he has a history of alcohol abuse.
“He’s an alcoholic and an abuser,” the person, told The Denver Channel.
“This family deserves to know who they’re dealing with,” the person said.
Ramirez Valiente said during a press conference at the church that he came to the United States 14 years ago from El Salvador, where he said he fled gang violence.
He first came on the radar of immigration authorities in 2011, following a traffic stop. He claimed in the press conference that he had been fighting his immigration case for eight years, and that he had never missed an immigration hearing.
He is survived by his wife and five children, ages six through 15.
