“He had previously been deported THREE times, and has a criminal history for driving under the influence of liquor. This tragedy was 100% preventable.”
A Mexican national who authorities say was unlawfully present in the United States and had previously been deported three times is now the subject of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer after being charged in a North Carolina crash that killed a 6-year-old girl and seriously injured her mother and younger sibling.
According to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, the collision occurred at approximately 12:12 pm on July 3 at the intersection of County Home Road and Warren Jones Road in Pitt County.
Investigators allege that Jaime Santiago Corona, 33, was driving a 2023 Dodge Ram pickup southbound on Warren Jones Road when he failed to stop at a stop sign, entered the intersection, and struck a 2016 Chevrolet SUV traveling west on County Home Road. The SUV was driven by 35-year-old Kelli Toler, who was traveling with her two children. Toler and her 4-year-old child were transported to ECU Health Medical Center in Greenville with serious injuries. Her 6-year-old daughter, Calli Toler, was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, ICE has lodged an immigration detainer requesting that North Carolina authorities notify federal officials before Corona is released from local custody. "This monster caused a car crash that killed a 6-year-old girl, and injured a mother and a 4-year-old," Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement to The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI.
"He had previously been deported THREE times, and has a criminal history for driving under the influence of liquor. This tragedy was 100% preventable. Our prayers are with Calli Toler and her family. DHS lodged a detainer requesting this criminal illegal alien not be released from jail and allowed on our roads again."
According to DHS, Corona illegally entered the United States on four separate occasions. The agency said he was removed from the country in 2019, 2023, and 2024, but unlawfully reentered a fourth time at an unknown date and location. Authorities say Corona's criminal history includes prior convictions for driving under the influence and obstructing police.
Following the fatal collision, Corona was arrested and charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle, failure to stop for a stop sign, careless and reckless driving, and driving while his license was revoked. The North Carolina State Highway Patrol said an initial charge of driving without an operator's license was later amended to driving while license revoked.
Corona is being held at the Pitt County Detention Center under a $100,000 secured bond, with bond documents describing him as a flight risk.
In a statement shared to social media after the crash, Down East Dance, where Calli was a student, remembered the young girl as "a bright, joyful presence" whose "smile, her kindness, and her love for dance touched everyone around her."
"Calli was not only one of our dance family members, but cousin to our own Ms. Erica," the studio wrote. "Losing someone so young and full of light is a tragedy that weighs heavily on all of us."
The studio encouraged dancers to wear "something bright, sparkly, or simply something that makes them feel connected to her spirit—full of light, love & fun" in her memory and shared a fundraiser established to support the Toler family as they navigate what it described as an "unthinkable time."
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