Search fatalities

Gaudencio Gerardo Luna-Vasquez

Age : 52

Gender : Male

Race : Latino/a/e

Date : 12/25/2021

Location : Otay Lakes Road near Thousand Trails Campground

City : Unincorporated San Diego County

County : San Diego

State : California

Agency : U.S. Border Patrol

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Passenger killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

.
REASON WHY PURSUIT WAS INITIATED:
U.S. Border Patrol agents attempted to stop the vehicle after identifying it as part of a suspected migrant-smuggling operation near the Otay Mountain Wilderness.
.
EVENT NARRATIVE:
On 12/25/2021, shortly before 6:00 p.m., Kevin Antonio Quevedo-Moncada picked up three migrants, including 52-year-old Gaudencio Gerardo Luna-Vasquez, who had crossed the U.S.-Mexico border and were hiding in the Otay Mountain Wilderness in eastern San Diego County. Federal prosecutors later established that Quevedo-Moncada was participating in a migrant-smuggling operation and expected to be paid $2,000 to transport the passengers to Anaheim.
.
At approximately 6:02 p.m., a U.S. Border Patrol agent in a marked vehicle encountered the car near the Pio Pico RV Resort and Thousand Trails Campground and activated the patrol vehicle's emergency lights. Quevedo-Moncada initially appeared to slow before accelerating into the campground. A second Border Patrol agent positioned a marked patrol vehicle at the campground exit. At approximately 6:03 p.m., Quevedo-Moncada struck that Border Patrol vehicle and drove east onto Otay Lakes Road while agents pursued.
.
Quevedo-Moncada continued driving at high speed along the dark, winding rural roadway in rainy and wet conditions. The pursuing Border Patrol agents lost sight of the vehicle. A subsequent California Highway Patrol crash reconstruction determined that Quevedo-Moncada reached approximately 93 mph while negotiating a curve with a posted speed limit of 35 mph. He lost control, drove off the roadway and down an embankment, and crashed into a tree.
.
Luna-Vasquez and the two other passengers were ejected from the vehicle. Luna-Vasquez died at the scene. The other passengers, ages 19 and 29, were hospitalized in critical condition. One suffered a broken jaw, collapsed lung, eight fractured ribs, spleen and kidney injuries and required a medically induced coma before being stabilized. Quevedo-Moncada, who was not seriously injured, climbed through the windshield and ran from the crash scene before Border Patrol agents apprehended him.
.
Federal prosecutors later determined that the fatal trip was connected to a larger migrant-smuggling organization headed by Felipe de Jesus Rosales-Herrera. Prosecutors said drivers working for the organization were instructed to flee if Border Patrol attempted to stop them, including by engaging in high-speed chases. The organization continued smuggling migrants after its members learned that Luna-Vasquez had been killed in this crash.
.
TOTAL FATALITIES/INJURIES:
1 Fatality, 2 Critical Injuries.
.
DISPOSITION:
Quevedo-Moncada pleaded guilty in October 2022 to federal charges arising from the crash, including transportation of unauthorized migrants resulting in death and transportation resulting in serious bodily injury. On 02/03/2023, U.S. District Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo sentenced him to 51 months in federal prison.
.
The broader federal investigation subsequently resulted in prosecution of members of the smuggling organization connected to the trip. Rosales-Herrera pleaded guilty in 2024 to conspiracy charges involving an organization that prosecutors said smuggled more than 100 migrants and instructed drivers to flee from law enforcement.
.
LITIGATION:
None found.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/pr/human-smuggler-sentenced-51-months-fatal-christmas-day-crash
https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/san-diego-news/man-pleads-guilty-to-fatal-crash-during-police-chase-that-killed-migrant
https://timesofsandiego.com/crime/2022/10/03/smuggler-pleads-guilty-to-fatal-christmas-day-crash-that-killed-migrant/
https://apnews.com/article/55506a8b67f8a2aa26f1c294223b0e5d
https://timesofsandiego.com/crime/2024/07/11/ringleader-of-migrant-smuggling-operation-linked-to-2021-fatal-crash-pleads-guilty/
https://timesofsandiego.com/crime/2024/10/11/migrant-smuggling-ring-leader-sentenced-to-10-years-in-prison/