This woman, an illegal, killed a firefighter who was trying to put out a brush fire. She did not have an American driver’s license, nor apparently a matricula consular, which the Durham City Council recognized last night in a 5-2 vote:
The woman, Neida Ortega, 34, of Sumter was to be taken to Charlotte for deportation proceedings, Lancaster said.
Police say Ortega caused the accident that resulted in the death of Chance Zobel, 23, a Columbia firefighter who was helping another firefighter put out a brush fire in the interstate media.
Troopers charged Ortega with driving without a valid U.S. license and going too fast for conditions in the incident. She was held overnight in the Alvin Glenn Detention Center in Richland County and released on bond Sunday.
She did have a license, but it was from Mexico, said Lancaster. “She said she had lived here 10 years.”
If this woman had been stopped, say, the day before and found not to have a license, the Durham Police would have let her go, according to Chief Jose Lopez’s remarks at the council meeting on Tuesday night.
