Davis’s story circulated online after an X user, Faith Jackson, shared the initial reporting by local news outlet WTOC and said, “ICE killed a teacher in Georgia today when they chose to chase a man who posed no danger and had no criminal history.”

The ICE X account quoted Jackson’s tweet and dismissed the allegation that the government agency was at fault.

“This is an utterly disgusting lie,” ICE posted. “A Guatemalan criminal illegal alien fled from law enforcement and crashed into another vehicle, killing Linda Davis — an American citizen and beloved teacher at Hesse K-8. This tragic loss of life at the hands of someone who shouldn’t be here could have been prevented.”

The Chatham County Police Department told the Washington Examiner that 38-year-old Oscar Vasquez-Lopez was fleeing from a traffic stop initiated by ICE when he ran a red light and collided with Davis’s car. She was taken to the hospital, where she later died from her injuries. 

Vasquez-Lopez sustained no life-threatening injuries and is in custody. There were no additional passengers involved in the accident. The illegal immigrant has been charged with first-degree vehicular homicide, reckless driving, driving without a valid license, and failure to obey a traffic control device. 

The Chatham County police said its officers were not involved in the operation, the traffic stop, or the pursuit. The department was not aware of the ICE operation until after the crash. 

A press release from the Department of Homeland Security reiterated that Vasquez-Lopez had failed to cooperate with officers and that his reckless actions, which included making a U-turn and entering an intersection against a red light, were the proximate cause of the collision, not ICE’s attempt to initiate a lawful stop. 

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DHS characterized the incident as “an absolute tragedy” and blamed a climate of “demonizing“ federal law enforcement that encourages people to evade arrest. 

“This vehicular homicide is an absolute tragedy and deadly consequence of politicians and the media constantly demonizing ICE officers and encouraging those here illegally to resist arrest—a felony,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. “These dangerous tactics are putting people’s lives at risk. Fleeing from and resisting federal law enforcement is not only a crime but extraordinarily dangerous and puts oneself, our officers, and innocent civilians at risk. Now, an innocent bystander has lost their life.”