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Senate candidate Mike Braun drops immigration ad featuring Colts linebacker, Uber driver

Posted at 1:06 PM, Mar 05, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-05 14:54:27-05

ANGOLA, Ind. (AP) --  A U.S. Senate candidate from Indiana is discontinuing a television ad featuring an Uber driver and an Indianapolis Colts player who were killed in a suspected drunken-driving crash by a person in the country illegally.

A spokesperson for Braun's campaign says the ad "ran it's (sic) course and made our point," so they are coming out with a new ad as scheduled.

"You don't have a right to take other people's misery and use it for your own political gain. That's just wrong - that's just downright wrong," said Deborah Monroe.

Monroe's husband, Jeffrey, and Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson were killed Feb. 4 in Indianapolis.

The ad narrated by Braun called for a crackdown on immigration and displayed pictures of Monroe and Jackson, along with the mug shot of Manuel Orrego-Savala, a Guatemalan man charged in the crash.

READ |  Widow calls political ad using her husband's death to promote Indiana candidate 'disgusting'

"His immigration status didn't kill my husband," said Deborah.

Deborah and Jeffrey had been married for nearly 24 years.

Jeffrey had been an Uber driver for more than two years and his wife says he loved every minute of it.

Police believe Jeffrey had pulled over at the side of I-70 because Jackson was sick.

Both men were outside the car when a black Ford F-150 drove onto the shoulder and struck the vehicle, killing them both.

MOREAttorney says on-scene confession by suspect in fatal DUI crash should be thrown out | Docs: Suspect in drunk driving crash that killed Colts player, Uber driver showed ‘no remorse’ | Suspect in crash that killed Colts player was in U.S. illegally, had been deported twice