The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is actively working with local law enforcement to locate an illegal migrant allegedly responsible for crashing into a Nashville pedestrian and driving off.
Tony Gebian Lopez Infante is suspected of plowing into 21-year-old American Zachary Carach, leaving him hospitalized with severe injuries, on May 18 while he was visiting Nashville to celebrate his birthday. A DHS spokesperson confirmed Thursday that Lopez Infante is a Venezuelan national who illegally entered the U.S. under the Biden administration and had already been ordered removed from the country.
“An illegal alien who should never have been in the U.S. allegedly struck a young man who was celebrating his 21st birthday in a hit-and-run crash and is still at large,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a prepared statement. “The Biden Administration released this illegal alien into our country in 2023.”
“This crime was preventable and is the direct result of open border policies that prioritized illegal aliens over the safety of American citizens,” McLaughlin continued. “Secretary Noem is praying for Zachary Carach’s quick recovery.”
Lopez Infante allegedly struck Carach, a Florida native who was visiting the town, at a crosswalk with a rented Mitsubishi Mirage and immediately fled the scene, according to Fox 17. The Venezuelan national allegedly returned the damaged vehicle to a rental company on May 19, where local law enforcement discovered it the following day and soon identified him as a suspect.
After entering the U.S. illegally on Aug. 1, 2023, Lopez Infante was released into the country two weeks later, according to DHS. Roughly a year afterward, in September 2024, an immigration judge ordered him to be removed from the U.S.
As of Thursday, the Venezuelan illegal migrant remains at large and federal immigration authorities are working with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department to locate him. DHS is requesting anyone with information to contact the department through its tip line.
“[Help] President Trump, Secretary Noem, and our brave law enforcement remove these public safety threats from our communities and make America safe again,” McLaughlin stated.
The manhunt for Lopez Infante comes as House Republicans launch an investigation into Freddie O’Connell, the mayor of Nashville, for allegedly obstructing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. The congressional investigation follows an executive order issued by the Mayor O’Connell that directs city employees and first responders to report all communication with immigration authorities directly to his office.
The investigation, run by the House Homeland and Judiciary Committees, requests all documentation and communication from O’Connell’s office regarding the anti-ICE executive order and internal communication and documentation regarding ICE enforcement actions in Nashville and the surrounding Davidson County.
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