Story perspectives

Illegal Immigrant Driver Sparks Six-Vehicle Pileup, Lacks License

5/7/2026

Summary

Story summary

Juan Hernandez-Santos caused a six-vehicle pileup in Lacey after troopers ordered him off the road.
A November stop found he lacked a commercial license, logbook and drew $1,000-plus citations and a warning.
He later drove the semitruck, was cited for lacking a commercial license, and has hit-and-run and DUI convictions.
Homeland Security said he is illegally present, was deported in 2005 and 2006, and that a detainer request was ignored.

History

Historical Context

Operation Wetback, launched in June 1954 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s INS chief General Joseph M. Swing, used military-style raids to expel roughly 1.3 million undocumented Mexican workers. Decades of such mass removals set a precedent for aggressive enforcement that resurfaces today, as undocumented truck driver Juan Hernandez-Santos caused a six-vehicle crash in Lacey, Washington, prompting renewed calls for stricter licensing and immigration coordination.

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Story summary

Juan Hernandez-Santos caused a six-vehicle pileup in Lacey after troopers ordered him off the road.
A November stop found he lacked a commercial license, logbook and drew $1,000-plus citations and a warning.
He later drove the semitruck, was cited for lacking a commercial license, and has hit-and-run and DUI convictions.
Homeland Security said he is illegally present, was deported in 2005 and 2006, and that a detainer request was ignored.

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