A 28-year-old Mexican tourist, Juan Jairo Coronilla Durán, has died after he was struck by a tractor-trailer while fleeing from US federal immigration officers during an encounter in Florida.
Coronilla Durán lost his life on July 14 after reportedly running across a busy road in St. Augustine, where he was hit by a truck. Authorities said the incident occurred during an operation involving officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
According to Isaret Jeffers, founder of the farmworkers’ advocacy group Colectivo Arbol, Coronilla Durán had travelled from San Luis de la Paz in Guanajuato, Mexico, to Atlanta to visit relatives and friends. After spending about three weeks in Georgia, he travelled to Florida’s east coast for a holiday.
Jeffers said the victim’s wife, Yezzika Alamilla, told the organisation that her husband had entered the United States legally on a tourist visa.
“His wife said he was there on a tourist visa. She didn’t understand what was happening,” Jeffers said. “He didn’t come to work; he wasn’t working. He was here as a tourist.”
A Mexican government official also confirmed Coronilla Durán’s identity, while the US Department of Homeland Security had yet to clarify whether his visa was still valid.
Florida Highway Patrol said Coronilla Durán was one of four people travelling in a vehicle that stopped at a petrol station shortly before 7 a.m. During an encounter with immigration officers, all four occupants reportedly fled on foot.
Investigators said one of the individuals ran across a busy highway and was struck by a passing tractor-trailer. Authorities have not disclosed what led to the encounter or the whereabouts of the other three occupants.
The Florida Highway Patrol and the Department of Homeland Security have declined to release further details, citing an ongoing investigation.
Jeffers explained that Alamilla contacted Colectivo Arbol a day after her husband’s death seeking assistance to travel to the United States and return his remains to Mexico. The organisation purchased her plane ticket and provided accommodation before the Mexican consulate took over the process.
“She thinks he was very afraid, and that’s why he ran away,” Jeffers said.
Susana Guerra Vallejo, undersecretary for migrant assistance and mobility affairs in Guanajuato, confirmed that Coronilla Durán had only recently arrived in the United States and was travelling on a tourist visa.
According to her, Alamilla was granted access to see her husband’s body at a funeral home in Florida before arrangements were made to repatriate his remains.
Guerra Vallejo said Coronilla Durán’s body would be flown from Orlando to Mexico, where he will be buried in his hometown of San Luis de la Paz, about 160 miles northwest of Mexico City.
Jeffers disclosed that the deceased is survived by his wife and their two children, a seven-month-old daughter and a seven-year-old son.
Coronilla Durán’s death is reportedly among at least 10 fatalities linked to encounters with US immigration authorities since President Donald Trump launched his renewed mass deportation campaign last year.
The Mexican government said it has requested state attorneys general in the United States to investigate the deaths of migrants in ICE custody or during immigration operations to determine whether criminal charges are warranted.
