For second time in a week, illegal immigrant accused of hit-and-run
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Federal immigration officials tell ABC11 a second illegal immigrant suspected of causing a serious wreck this week will not be allowed out of jail.
Earlier this week, the I-Team covered the return of Efren Roblero to the streets of Wake County.
Click here to read our previous story.
Roblero is accused of driving drunk and causing a crash that injured two people over the weekend. He managed to post his $75,000 bond and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials approved his release from jail.
Now, another illegal immigrant, Antonio Arellano, is accused of hit-and-run causing serious injury, driving without a license, and reckless driving.
The woman he allegedly hit spoke to ABC11 Friday from her hospital bed at WakeMed where she is recovering from surgery.
"Just looked up and there's a truck coming head on. I tried to swerve to avoid it, and there was nothing I could do," said Stephanie Johnson.
Johnson says she heard about the release of Roblero on ABC 11 and feared Arellano might also get out of jail. She suspects Arellano might have been driving drunk.
However, that's something investigators can't prove since he wasn't arrested until two days after the crash.
"I see here that you have two prior convictions for impaired driving and that you have been removed from the United States by a previous immigration proceeding," Wake County District Court Judge Ned Mangum told Arellano during the suspect's first court appearance on the charges Friday afternoon.
During that appearance, Mangum nearly tripled the bond on the 31 year old.
Witnesses at the crash scene identified Arellano.
That includes the woman who told a 911 dispatcher: "The gentleman walked away. He got out of the F-150 [pickup truck] and walked toward Jonesville Road."
Johnson, who suffered a lacerated liver, a broken wrist and ribs, and a compound fracture to her left leg, can't believe anyone could walk away from a crash and leave someone badly injured.
"I know he heard me screaming for help," said Johnson. "That's all. That's all I ever remember saying, 'Help me. Get me out of this car.'"
An ICE official said because Arellano has two prior DWI convictions in Wake and Randolph Counties he falls under the "priority" category for the Homeland Security agency.
That means, if Arellano posts his $32,000 bond, he still won't be able to leave jail because the feds will detain him.
Roblero was approved for release according to the ICE official because he didn't meet ICE priorities -- specifically that he hasn't been convicted of a crime and hasn't been deported since 2014.
He has been charged with prior crimes that haven't been tried and was deported but that was before 2014.
