Man deported 5 times kills woman in hit-and-run, police say
LOS ANGELES, California -- A family has demanded justice after police said a woman was killed in a hit-and-run crash in North Hills by a man who had been deported five times.
Sandra Duran was killed on Feb. 19 near the corner of Sepulveda Boulevard and Plummer Street.
Authorities said 45-year-old Estuardo Alvarado had fled the scene of another crash when he slammed into her car. Federal officials said Alvarado is an undocumented immigrant with a lengthy criminal record who had been deported to Mexico five times.
A massive memorial of photos now sits in the living room after the 42-year-old mother was killed.
"Knowing the history that he had, with the DUIs and so forth, it was like a slap in the hand and sent back, and he came back and it shouldn't have been done like that," said Juanita Hernandez, the victim's sister.
Court records show Alvarado has been charged with numerous crimes, from possession of a weapon to driving under the influence to drug charges.
"If the laws would have been a lot stricter, this could have been prevented, but he had a record long already, so that tells you right there," said father Santo Duran.
According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, Alvarado, who is a Mexican national, has been removed to Mexico several times since 1998, most recently in 2011.
"There's a lot of good people that, you know, have come to this country to make a life and a living for themselves, and to have someone like him come in that did drugs or, you know, drinking under the influence and has nothing coming for his life -- those are the people that need to stay over there," added Hernandez.
Alvarado faces five felony counts in connection with the fatal crash, including murder. Sandra Duran's family said he should spend the rest of his life behind bars.
"He'll destroy someone else's family and that's what we don't," Hernandez shared. "We want him put away for good. I want justice for my sister, [for] her life not to go in vain."
