Trump Says It’s ‘Disgraceful’ NFL Player Edwin Jackson Was Killed by Illegal Immigrant

Edwin Jackson in September 2016. (Jeffrey Beall via Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license)

President Donald Trump said that it is “disgraceful” that an NFL player was killed over the weekend by a man who was in the United States illegally.

“So disgraceful that a person illegally in our country killed @Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson,” Trump tweeted. “This is just one of many such preventable tragedies. We must get the Dems to get tough on the Border, and with illegal immigration, FAST!”

Manuel Orrego-Savala, a citizen of Guatemala. (Indiana State Police)

The president later wrote, “My prayers and best wishes are with the family of Edwin Jackson, a wonderful young man whose life was so senselessly taken.”

Jackson, 26, and Jeffrey Monroe, 54, both died at around 4 a.m. Sunday on Interstate 70 in Indiana, reportedly while they were standing outside their vehicle on the emergency shoulder. Monroe reportedly was Jackson’s Uber driver, Fox News reported.

Jackson played linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts.

Vice President Mike Pence, the former Indiana governor, tweeted his condolences.

“On my way to Alaska. I was very saddened to hear of the passing of Indianapolis @Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson. This was a senseless & avoidable tragedy. This is a great loss for the entire Indiana community. My prayers are with his family in their time of grief,” Pence tweeted.

The driver of the F-150 truck in the incident was later identified as Manuel Orrego-Savala, 37. He had already been deported twice—once in 2007 and once in 2009.

Orrego-Savala’s blood alcohol level was at 0.239 at the time of the crash, which is about three times the legal limit, reported the Indianapolis Star.

It was not clear when Orrego-Savala re-entered the United States after he was deported in 2009.

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