U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed a hold on a Houston man who police said let his 12-year-old daughter drive his SUV, which resulted in the death of a man and his dog last week.
The hold was placed on Tomas Mejia Tol, 42, for an immigration violation, court documents cited by Fox 26 read.
Holds are placed on people “arrested on criminal charges for whom ICE possesses probable cause to believe that they are removable from the United States,” according to ICE.
Such detainers typically ask jails to notify immigration officials before a person is released to allow agents to launch deportation proceedings.
Tol was charged with negligent homicide and endangering a child in the death of 46-year-old Enrique Vazquez.
Prosecutors said Tol let his daughter drive his Ford Explorer in an apartment complex parking lot on Aug. 17 at the same time Vazquez was walking his dogs in the area.
There was also a 2-year-old in the back seat, investigators said. The girl hit the accelerator and struck Vazquez, one of his dogs and a tree.
Vazquez was pronounced dead at the scene; the dog died later.
