The suspected drunk driver that killed Edwin Jackson, the Indianapolis Colts linebacker who played at Westlake High and Georgia Southern, and his ride-share driver was an undocumented immigrant who had been twice deported, according to police. The men were killed early Sunday morning in Indianapolis.
Police identified the driver as Manuel Orrego-Savala. He gave police the alias of Alex Cabrera Gonsales after he was caught fleeing the scene of the accident on foot. Police say Orrego-Savala is a citizen of Guatemala who is in the United States illegally after being deported in 2007 and 2009.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement released a statement Monday indicating that Orrego-Savala was convicted of driving under the influence in Redwood City, California, in 2005.
President Donald Trump called Orrego-Savala being in the country disgraceful and a preventable tragedy in a post on Twitter.
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The 26-year-old Jackson and 54-year-old Jeffrey Monroe were pronounced dead on the scene of the accident along I-70 around 4 a.m. Sunday morning. The two were out of their car on the emergency shoulder after Jackson had taken ill. Orrego-Savala hit the two in a Ford F-150 pickup truck. According to the police report, Orrego-Savala was suspected of being intoxicated and driving without a license.
Jackson was an inside linebacker who spent all of this season on injured reserve. Jackson joined the Colts late in the 2015 season but did not appear in a game. In 2016, he played in all 16 games, including eight starts. He was the third-leading tackler on the team with 66 tackles. He signed with the Arizona Cardinals in 2015 as an undrafted free agent but did not appear in a game before joining the Colts.
Jackson was a walk-on at Georgia Southern after not being recruited out of high school. He rose up the depth chart and was eventually the team’s leading tackler as a senior. Jackson was also a Class 5A wrestling state championship finalist at 189 pounds at Westlake High.