Santana, who was in the United States illegally, was identified by the Snohomish County Prosecutor's Office as the individual responsible for the incident.
The fatal crash occurred on March 2, when Trooper Christopher M. Gadd, 27, was on patrol for speeders and DUI drivers on Interstate 5 near Marysville, Washington. Gadd was struck and killed in a three-vehicle crash around 3 am, a collision so severe that Santana’s black SUV ricocheted into a white van in the fast lane after bouncing off the trooper’s vehicle.
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Investigators have reported that Santana was driving south on I-5 at over 110 miles an hour when his SUV veered onto the shoulder, colliding with the trooper’s parked patrol vehicle. Court documents reveal that Santana admitted to smoking marijuana and consuming two beers earlier in the evening. Three hours post-collision, he still had a significant blood alcohol level. Santana is currently being held on $1 million bail.
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The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI exclusively revealed that Santana was an illegal immigrant with an extensive criminal record. An ICE Spokesperson confirmed to Hoffman that an immigration detainer had been placed on Santana by the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Seattle. The spokesperson further stated that Santana is "unlawfully present in the US" and entered the country "at an unknown date and time, without admission or parole by an immigration officer."
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Santana was first encountered by ERO Seattle on October 28, 2013, following his arrest for failure to appear for driving while his license was suspended. His criminal record includes multiple convictions for driving while his license was suspended or revoked, possession, and domestic violence assault.
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Despite his illegal status, Snohomish County court documents erroneously claimed Santana was a US citizen. In 2017, ICE listed Snohomish on the list of "Highest Volume of Detainers Issued to Non-Cooperative Jurisdictions," counties that "have a policy of non-cooperation."
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Washington’s Democratic Governor Jay Inslee signed the “Keep Washington Working Act” in 2019, making Washington a "sanctuary state," and limiting local law enforcement agencies' participation in the enforcement of federal immigration laws. Under this bill, state and local authorities are restricted from questioning people about their immigration status except in limited cases. Local jails and state prisons are not required to comply with voluntary federal “immigration holds” or notify federal authorities when they are scheduled to release an illegal immigrant from custody.
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Inslee signed the bill days before Santana’s domestic violence conviction. Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, now a candidate for governor, published model policies, guidance, and training recommendations based on these new limits in 2020. In 2017, Inslee signed an executive order with similar provisions.
Trooper Gadd is survived by a wife, a 2-year-old daughter, a father who is also a Washington State trooper, and a sister who is a trooper in Texas.
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