A husband and wife from Illinois were killed in a car accident that’s now getting a lot of attention because of who was driving the other car. Michael Clayton, who worked on the Coles County Board, and his wife Gail died after their car was hit by another driver named Edwin Pacheco-Meza, who is 34 years old.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Pacheco-Meza was in the country illegally. What makes this crash even stranger is where it happened, as obtained by Fox News. The accident took place on small country roads that only people from the area would normally drive on.
Illinois State Senator Chapin Rose, who represents that part of the state, couldn’t understand why these men were even there. “This is in a part of Illinois that literally the only people that would drive would be local people,” Rose said. “What are these two guys from another state doing driving on these back roads of Illinois with ammunition, drugs, you know, all these things, and what were they even doing here?”
This seems like it could have been avoided
After the crash, police looked through Pacheco-Meza’s car and found some troubling things. There was ammunition, a magazine that holds extra bullets, drugs, and an open bottle of alcohol. All of this made people ask even more questions about what was really going on.
Police charged Pacheco-Meza with reckless homicide and drunk driving. The person riding with him, an 18-year-old named Juan Morales-Martinez, also got arrested for having drugs and a weapon.
ICE wanted to hold both men after they were taken to Clark County Jail, but the local police didn’t work with them because Illinois has sanctuary policies. Morales-Martinez had crossed into the United States illegally back in December 2023 and was let go under the Biden administration. Federal agents finally caught him when he walked out of the jail after local authorities released him.
Senator Rose talked about how upset he is with how Illinois handles immigration laws. He pointed out that the Claytons were the fifth and sixth people in his district who were allegedly killed by people in the country illegally.
The tragic deaths of these Illinois residents have once again highlighted concerns about public safety in the state. “I don’t know how many more people have to die for, frankly, Democrats to pay attention and start enforcing the laws we have and start helping and cooperating with President Trump as they remove these illegals from our country,” Rose said.
Things got even more heated when Illinois lawmakers passed a new law just one week after the Claytons died. This law stops ICE officers from arresting people within 1,000 feet of courthouses, hospitals, day cares, and colleges. Rose thinks this is dangerous because people who get arrested might try to run away and hurt someone in the process.
Similar concerns about driver history and accountability have emerged in other recent fatal crashes involving young drivers, raising broader questions about road safety enforcement.
Tricia McLaughlin, who works as Assistant Secretary at DHS, said this whole thing didn’t have to happen. She said that “President Trump and Secretary Noem have unleashed ICE and CBP in Illinois to restore law and order and remove criminal illegal aliens from our communities.”
Published: Nov 6, 2025 02:45 pm