SAVANNAH, GA – A Georgia elementary school teacher was killed early Monday after a man attempting to flee federal immigration agents crashed into her vehicle in Savannah, authorities said.

Linda Davis, a longtime teacher at Herman W. Hesse K-8 School, was driving to work when the collision occurred on Whitefield Avenue near the Truman Parkway, according to county police. Emergency personnel pulled Davis from her crushed Lexus sedan. She was transported to a hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.

In a statement, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were attempting to apprehend Oscar Vasquez Lopez, whom the agency identified as a Guatemalan national with a final order of removal issued by a federal judge in 2024. The agency said he entered the United States illegally at an unknown date and location.

According to DHS, officers observed Vasquez Lopez enter a vehicle and attempted a traffic stop. The agency said he initially complied but then fled, making a U-turn and running a red light before colliding with another vehicle. County police said the crash resulted in Davis’ death.

Vasquez Lopez was taken into custody at a hospital with minor injuries. The Chatham County Police Department is charging him with vehicular homicide.

In its release, DHS criticized what it described as “sanctuary politicians” for encouraging people in the country illegally to resist federal law enforcement. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin called the crash “an absolute tragedy” and urged public officials and the media to “turn the temperature down and stop calling for violence and resistance against ICE law enforcement.”