ICE released an updated statement on Thursday, April 12th in connection to the crash that happened in Delano on March 13th, which left two people dead after they attempting to evade ICE agents.
“ICE is currently reviewing the incident and additional details are not available at this time. However, it should be noted that three separate witnesses reported to the Delano PD that they did not observe a vehicle pursuing the vehicle involved in the accident. The unfortunate outcome of the decision made by the vehicle driver to erratically evade ICE officers is why ICE encourages all of those we encounter to comply with officers’ commands in order to ensure our ability to carry out our mission as safely as possible.”
On Wednesday, April 11th Delano Police released the following statement on their Facebook page, in which they said they would be forwarding the report of the accident to the District Attorney's Office for review due to the "discrepancies in the statements provided by ICE agents".
In the Facebook post Delano Police say the ICE agents involved in the incident reported they "initiated a traffic stop, and the driver of the vehicle did yield," adding that "once the agents exited their vehicles, the driver fled the area". Delano police said the ICE agents indicated in their statement that they "did not pursue with their lights or sirens activated; however, they did follow in the same direction".
However, in their Facebook post Delano Police went on to say the video surveillance they located "indicates that the ICE agents did have the emergency lights activated on each of their respective vehicles, following in the same direction of the fleeing vehicle".
Anyone with any information regarding this case is urged to call the Delano Police Department Traffic Division at 661-721-3377.
