A grieving mother came face-to-face with the truck driver accused of killing her newlywed son and daughter-in-law in a devastating Oregon highway crash.
Elizabeth Carter struggled to hold back tears as she approached Rajinder Kumar, 32. He was sitting inside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicle before being transferred to Oregon to face manslaughter charges.
Instead of confronting Kumar with anger over the deaths of her son, William Micah Carter, 25, and his wife, Jennifer Lynn Lower, 24, the grieving mother told him she had been praying for him.
‘Hello Mr. Kumar, my name is Elizabeth Carter; I’m William Micah Carter’s mother,’ she said in an emotional exchange recorded in video released by ICE’s Victims of Immigrant Crime Engagement (VOICE) office.
‘And I wanted you to know that I pray for you and your family, I know you didn’t get up that morning planning to kill two newlyweds. And I know your family is going through something important too.’
The emotional encounter followed the deaths of Carter and Lower, who had been married for only 16 days when they were killed in the Oregon crash.
The couple were traveling in a Subaru Outback on November 24, 2025, when Kumar allegedly jackknifed his commercial tractor-trailer across US Highway 20, blocking both lanes.
Their Subaru collided with the semi-truck, killing both of them at the scene.
Elizabeth Carter fought back tears as she approached Rajinder Kumar, 32, who is accused of killing her newlywed son and his wife in a devastating highway crash
Rather than confront Rajinder Kumar with anger over the deaths of her son, William Micah Carter, 25, and his bride, Jennifer Lynn Lower, 24, the grieving mother told him she had been praying for him
A Deschutes County grand jury later indicted Kumar on two counts of first-degree manslaughter and three counts of recklessly endangering another person.
Kumar has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The criminal case was soon drawn into a dispute between federal immigration authorities and local officials over Kumar’s custody.
Immigration and court records cited by Fox News indicate that Kumar entered the United States illegally near Lukeville, Arizona, on November 28, 2022.
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Border Patrol agents apprehended the Indian national, who was later released into the country under the Biden administration while his immigration proceedings were pending.
He subsequently received federal work authorization and secured a California commercial driver’s license, enabling him to drive commercial trucks while his immigration case remained unresolved.
Following his Oregon indictment, ICE issued an immigration detainer requesting that the Deschutes County Jail notify federal authorities before releasing him.
County corrections officials did not honor the request, however, and released Kumar on April 2 under Oregon’s sanctuary policies.
The newlyweds were traveling in a Subaru Outback on Nov. 24, 2025, when Kumar allegedly jackknifed his commercial tractor-trailer across US Highway 20
Federal immigration agents eventually found and arrested Kumar on April 22.
He was taken to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, where authorities pursued his removal from the United States.
The federal government has since paused the deportation proceedings to let Oregon prosecutors pursue the criminal case.
ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Seattle confirmed Kumar had been returned to Deschutes County custody to stand trial over the deadly crash.
‘Two Americans lost their lives, and their families deserve accountability,’ acting Field Office Director Julio Hernandez said.
‘ICE worked closely with law enforcement partners to ensure Kumar is returned to state custody to answer for the serious charges against him.’
Hernandez said the coordinated effort would prevent Kumar from avoiding prosecution while supporting the victims’ families.
Kumar’s criminal trial remains pending in Deschutes County Circuit Court, with any federal deportation action postponed until the state proceedings are resolved.
