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Suspect in deadly drunken Uber crash charged with false informing, perjury in Boone County

Posted at 2:05 PM, Feb 13, 2018
and last updated 2018-02-14 00:31:52-05

BOONE COUNTY, Ind. -- The suspect in a drunken crash that killed a Colts player and his Uber driver earlier this month has been charged in Boone County, Indiana on counts unrelated to the deadly crash. 

Manuel Orrego-Savala, 37, is accused of crashing into a car parked on the side of I-70 on Feb. 4, killing Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson, 26, and 54-year-old Jeffrey Monroe. 

Now, he has also been charged with perjury, forgery, identity deception and false informing in connection with a traffic stop in Boone County. 

According to a probable cause, a Whitestown police officer stopped Orrego-Savala's vehicle in March 2017. The driver identified himself as Alex Cabrera-Gonsales. In August 2017, the driver appeared in court and pleaded guilty to operating a motor vehicle without ever receiving a license. He stated, under oath, that his name was Alex Cabrera-Gonsales.

When police in Boone County learned of the fatal I-70 crash, they found out the person they thought was Cabrera-Gonsales was actually named Manuel Orrego-Savala. 

"A critical component to our state and nation's public safety is that we have proper identifying information and records of criminal offenders," Boone County Prosecutor Todd Meyer said. "Inaccurate information puts lives in danger and jeopardizes the proper function of our nation's criminal justice system as a whole. These charges reflect the seriousness of these types of offenses."

In connection with the fatal Uber crash, Orrego-Savala faces two counts of causing death when operating a motor vehicle with an ACE of .15 or more and two counts of failure to remain at the scene of an accident.  

Indiana State Police say Orrego-Savala is in the United States illegally, and he had been previously deported in 2007 and 2009. 

Ryan Mears, Chief Trial Attorney for the Marion County prosecutor's office says they will treat this case as they would any other, despite comments from President Trump or Orrego-Savala's immigration status.

"That doesn't determine how we prosecute a case. That doesn't determine how we charge a case. That doesn't determine what type of sentence we're going to ask for. Our concern is trying to bring justice to those families and we owe that to all families of any crimes here in Marion County," said Mears.

Police say Jackson was the passenger in an Uber when he got sick at around 4 a.m. on Feb. 4. The driver, Jeffrey Monroe, pulled over in the westbound lanes of I-70 near Holt Road to help him. Both men were outside the car when a black Ford F-150 drove into the shoulder and struck the vehicle. Jackson and Monroe were pronounced dead at the scene. 

Orrego-Savala, the suspected driver of the F-150, first fled the scene on foot, according to the probable cause document. Indiana State Police troopers located him on the ramp to Holt Road and stopped him, at which point he reportedly admitted he was the driver of the truck. A portable breath test administered at the scene determined Orrego-Savala’s BAC to be 0.239 percent – three times the legal limit.

EDWIN JACKSON | President Donald Trump tweets about Edwin Jackson death | Photos: Edwin Jackson playing for the Indianapolis Colts | Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson killed by suspected drunk driver in I-70 crash | High school teammate, friend remembers Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson: 'He just wanted to play' | Colts Nation pays tribute to Edwin Jackson after he was killed by a suspected drunk driver 

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