A Texas woman whose two children and husband died in an accident involving an illegal immigrant, said she’s now on a mission.
“He was here in legally he drove illegally, he was working illegally, and he killed three innocent people no matter how you look at it’s still murder,” said Courtney Hacking, who lost her three family members in the crash.
“It hurts just as much today as the day it happened,” said Hacking.
Toby Shook, a criminal defense lawyer, said that a longer sentence for Rosales, who pleaded guilty in the case, would mean demonstrating that he had the intent to kill.
“If it’s just an accident then the state has to prove criminal negligence which is a much higher standard,” said Shook.
Hacking to CBS that she is now working to federal lawmakers to making the immigration status an aggravating factor that can enhance punishments for deadly crimes.
She said that when Rosales gets out of prison in a few years and is deported, he’ll come back to the United States.
“What’s he going to do this time? Is it going to hold up a bank because he’s in this country right now and all we’ve ever done a slap him on the wrist,” she said.
Before the accident, Hacking said her husband picked up their kids from a babysitter, and he rarely ever drove on State Highway 78.
“On that day I lost my husband, my baby boy, my princess, my life as I knew it and my future,” she told Rosales. “And you were the one who took that away from me.”
“You were in this country illegally for the second time. You were driving a car without a license coming from a job you were illegally paid to do,” she said. “Because of your selfishness, three beautiful people lost their lives.”
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