DE Illegal mom at fault in child's death

Mother of child killed by pickup is charged
Illegal immigrant faces deportation to Mexico
By ALAN J. McCOMBS, The News Journal
Posted Wednesday, November 28, 2007
A woman who was struck by a pickup while trying to cross a highway with her children -- one of whom was killed in the June 9 accident -- faces child endangerment charges and possibly deportation after police learned she is an illegal immigrant from Mexico.
Maria Navarro-Luna, 31, was charged Tuesday with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Police say she was pushing a stroller carrying toddler Luzero Navarro-Luna and leading her 7-year-old daughter by the hand across U.S. 40 near its intersection with Salem Church Road, and crossed into the path of a 1993 Chevrolet 1500.
The impact left the 7-year-old in critical condition with broken legs and a broken neck, as well as injuries to her liver and kidneys. Maria Navarro-Luna also suffered multiple broken bones.
The baby died the next day.
Because a crosswalk was 230 feet from where they entered the roadway, Delaware State Police spokesman Cpl. Jeff Whitmarsh said, authorities decided to charge her.
Navarro-Luna told The News Journal in July that she had crossed U.S. 40 in the past without incident.
"The crosswalk was only a few meters away, but I had always crossed [where the accident happened] and been safe," she said in that interview.
Responsibility for the crash is something Navarro-Luna has been dealing with since it occurred, said Shannon Breedlove, a family friend.
"She blames herself. She tries to be strong," she said. "She's smiling and her spirit is strong but she has moments where she breaks down and thinks people are judging her."
An investigation into the June 9 incident revealed Navarro-Luna, a resident of the Bear area for the past two years, had come to the U.S. illegally after a previous failed attempt to cross the U.S. border, Whitmarsh said.
"Based on the circumstances surrounding her arrest for this case, in addition to her being here illegally and a prior attempt to enter here illegally, that information was presented to [the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service]," he said. "They are assessing the situation."
ICE does not comment on individual immigration proceedings due to privacy regulations, ICE spokesman Ernestine Fobbs said.
Breedlove said in a late morning conversation with Navarro-Luna that she was told she would be deported in the next 48 hours.
Diana Malero, another friend of Navarro-Luna, said she didn't understand why this was happening now.
"Why do they have to rush her? I don't understand the law," she said. "Its hard to accept the law would be that blind, that heartless."
When police arrested Navarro-Luna, she was allowed to contact family and friends to arrange care for her 2-year-old child who was with her, Whitmarsh said. Her 7-year-old child, who suffers short-term memory loss and is still recuperating from her injuries, was at school Tuesday.
Police notified the Mexican consulate about the move for deportation, Whitmarsh said.
Late Tuesday, relatives were taking care of the two children as Navarro-Luna waited at Baylor's Women's Correctional Center on $1,000 secured bail.