The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the United States announced on Thursday, October 1, that in 2023, a U.S. citizen attempted to smuggle 11 illegal immigrants into the country, resulting in a fatal car accident in Texas that led to the deaths of 4 people. The individual was sentenced to life imprisonment on September 25, 2026.
The Northern District of Texas Federal Prosecutor’s Office announced the verdict. DHS issued a statement regarding the investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a sub-agency of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in relation to this case.
According to local media in Texas, on March 13, 2023, Rassian Nateray Comer, a U.S. citizen from Louisiana, was driving a vehicle smuggling 11 illegal immigrants from Mexico into the U.S. When a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) officer attempted to pull him over, Comer fled the scene, leading to a high-speed chase with speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour.
Comer even livestreamed the pursuit on Facebook Live, showing the footage of the police chase and displaying his car’s speedometer reading at 105 miles per hour.
In Ozona, Comer ran a red light, causing a fatal crash with a pickup truck driven by Maria Tambunga, who had her 7-year-old granddaughter, Emilia Brooke Tambunga, in the vehicle, resulting in the deaths of both grandmother and granddaughter. Of the 11 illegal immigrants in Comer’s vehicle, two died, and the remaining nine were seriously injured.
Comer was arrested on the spot and admitted that this was his fourth instance of participating in human smuggling, also confessing to the possession of a stolen handgun found in the car.
On June 18, 2026, Comer pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to transport illegal immigrants resulting in death, 11 counts of transporting illegal immigrants resulting in death, and one count of possession of a stolen firearm.
On September 25, the Northern District of Texas Federal Prosecutor’s Office announced that Comer had been sentenced to life imprisonment.
During the sentencing hearing on September 25, Maria Tambunga’s family expressed profound grief. They stated, “No words can express the immense impact of losing our mother and Emilia. The loss of Emilia Brooke Tambunga and her mother Maria is an immeasurable loss. Losing Emilia Brooke Tambunga and her mother Maria has left us with only a firm belief and determination to entirely change the status quo and bring this animal to justice. Losing a mother leaves us heartbroken… the wound cannot heal.”
Secretary of DHS, Markwayne Mullin, stated, “This criminal previously attempted to create more chaos and destruction by smuggling illegal immigrants and then driving at high speeds to escape, ultimately causing the death of a grandmother and her granddaughter. Maria Tambunga and Emilia Brooke Tambunga should have been alive today if not for this profit-seeking criminal who disregarded human life.”
U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould remarked, “These were innocent lives taken in an instant by a smuggler, whose criminal actions showed complete disregard for the safety of everyone on the road; no sentence can ever make up for the loss.”
Raybould also stated that the sentence sends a clear message, “When criminals gamble with people’s lives, we will use all the power of the federal government to ensure that the victims receive fair treatment.”
Judy Pardo, Acting Deputy Director of HSI Dallas Field Office, said, “Comer’s reckless actions turned a human smuggling operation into an unimaginable tragedy… He displayed callousness and indifference towards the lives of those he transported, the law enforcement officers chasing him, and the innocent family on the road that night. This sentence holds him accountable for the devastating consequences. HSI will continue to work with our partners to combat smuggling networks that profit from trafficking and create tragedies.”