Woman charged with manslaughter in fatal jet ski collision
Daikerlyn Alejandra Gonzalez Gonzalez, 21, has been charged with manslaughter in the Sunday death of 18-year-old Ava Moore. Photo courtesy of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement/ Release
May 29 (UPI) -- Authorities have announced manslaughter charges against a 21-year-old undocumented immigrant accused of fatally striking an 18-year-old girl with a jet ski on a Texas lake over the weekend, in a case that has grabbed the attention of the Trump administration amid its crackdown on immigration.
Texas Game Warden Capt. Joseph Quintero announced the second-degree felony charge against Daikerlyn Alejandra Gonzalez Gonzalez during a press conference Wednesday.
Gonzalez is accused of killing Ava Moore, 18, on Sunday. Moore, a U.S. Air Force Academy cadet, was kayaking on Lake Grapevine when she was struck by the jet ski. She was pronounced dead at the hospital.
During the press conference, Quintero told reporters that Gonzalez was allegedly driving a jet ski with a second female passenger on board at a high rate of speed close to the shoreline before Moore was struck.
Gonzalez and the passenger allegedly left the scene, but the passenger returned to the shore, where fire department responders were performing life-saving measures on Moore and was interviewed by Grapevine Police Department officers.
Gonzalez allegedly then entered a vehicle that authorities accuse 21-year-old Maikel Coello Perozo of driving.
As they fled the area, their vehicle crashed into two others, authorities said.
They were both arrested in Dallas on Tuesday.
Quintero said Perozo has been charged with collision involving damage to a vehicle and hindering apprehension, both misdemeanors.
The passenger has not been charged, he said.
Gonzalez and Perozo have been identified as Venezuelan nationals who entered the United States undocumented, which has brought federal immigration law enforcement to the case as the Trump administration has been cracking down on immigration, both legal and undocumented.
"Daikerlyn Gonzalez and Maikel Perozo should have never been in our country and Ava Moore should be alive today preparing for the Air Force Academy, assistant DHS secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
"The previous administration's open border policies have cost too many Americans their lives."
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were the ones who detained Gonzalez on Tuesday. ICE said Gonzalez and Perozo were dating.
The Department of Homeland Security said Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged detainers against both suspects following their arrests.
Both are in removal proceedings, it said.
According to a Wednesday statement from ICE, Gonzalez entered the country Sept. 28, 2023, and was detained and processed by U.S. Border Patrol with a Notice to Appear and then released on an order of recognizance.
Perozo entered the United States Jan. 22, 2023. He was released pending an immigration hearing, ICE said.
On X, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, seemingly suggested capital punishment be the sentence Gonzalez should be considered for.
"Welcome to Texas," he said in comment to a post about the pair's arrest.
"Here's your Death Penalty."
Manslaughter, as a second-degree felony, is punishable in the state of Texas with two to 20 years' imprisonment.
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