FREEPORT, Ill. (WTVO) Authorities say the mother of former WNBA star Sophie Brunner and a man in the U.S. illegally are dead after a two-car crash in rural Illinois.
According to Stephenson County Sheriff Steven Stovall, deputies were called to the scene on Route 26 early Saturday afternoon.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Stovall said the preliminary investigation revealed Darcy Brunner, 61, was driving a Ford Edge northbound when she was struck head-on by a Nissan Altima driven by Rolando Ico-Choc, 30, a native of Guatemala.
Police said the Altima crossed into the northbound lane. Both drivers were killed in the crash, Stovall said. Authorities are awaiting results of toxicology tests, but Stovall indicated Brunner is not thought to be at fault.
Brunner’s daughter, Sophie, a graduate of Freeport Aquin, played in the NCAA for Arizona State and played for the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA in 2017.
Sen. Andrew Chesney (R-Freeport) said Ico-Choc, who was in the country illegally. He was a multiple DUI offender known to the Department of Homeland Security, and had a detainer issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Chesney added.
At the press conference on Tuesday, Chesney said Illinois’ TRUST Act prevented law enforcement from deporting Ico-Choc.
“I hold JB Prizker personally responsible. I hold the Democrats personally responsible,” said Rep. John Cabello (R-Machesney Park). “A life was taken by someone who shouldn’t have been here.”
The TRUST Act, signed by former Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) in 2017, prevents state law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities. It was amended by the Way Forward Act, which added additional requirements and protections.
“If we find there was a warrant for this man’s arrest, we all need to rise up and we need to demand resignations from our elected officials,” Cabello added.
Chesney has introduced Senate Bill 1313, which would reverse the 2017 law and ensure “undocumented immigrants charged with or convicted of a felony are identified, reported, and deported,” according to a press release.
Gov. Pritzker has said that violent noncitizens “should be imprisoned and, or if they’re illegal, undocumented in this country and they are committing violent crimes, they should be deported and turned over to authorities in their countries.”
“We should be protecting residents of the state of Illinois, even if they’re undocumented residents, and providing a path to citizenship,” Pritzker added.
