Illegal immigrant to serve only 1 year in prison for fatal hit-and-run killing of college student

An illegal immigrant from El Salvador who pleaded guilty to a hit-and-run that resulted in the death of a 21-year-old college student in Columbia, South Carolina, has been sentenced to just one year in prison.

24-year-old Rosali Fernandez-Cruz pleaded guilty to the charge in April. On April 2 on the University of South Carolina campus, Fernandez-Cruz was making a left turn from Blossom Street onto Assembly Street when he pulled out in front of 21-year-old Nate Baker’s motorcycle, striking him, per The Post and Courier. Baker, a junior business major at the University of South Carolina and originally from Virginia, died from his injuries. 

Prosecutors from the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office said that Fernandez-Crus stopped for a minute after the crash, but fled on foot. He was captured by police around a half-mile away and was cooperative at that point. 

Fernandez-Cruz’s sentencing took place on August 11, during which Fernandez-Cruz’s lawyer, Bill G. Yarborough, recommended a one-year sentence for his client. The felony offense carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. However, he was given the minimum of one year due to mitigating factors, attorneys said.

Yarborough said that his client wrote a letter to Baker’s family, apologizing for his role in Baker’s death. The attorney said that the family had written a letter saying that they did not have harsh feelings toward Fernandez-Cruz. "They were extremely Christian in their approach to this."

Fernandez-Crus began serving his sentence on August 14 and is projected to be released in March 2026, with the judge having credited the 131 days he was in county jail. Three other charges—failure to render aid, failure to yield the right of way and driving without a license - first offense—were dismissed. 

The attorney general’s office said he is expected to be deported after serving his sentence. An order of removal had been issued against Fernandez-Crus in 2018.