SAN DIEGO (CNS) - An Orange County man who crashed a car while fleeing from Border Patrol agents last Christmas, killing one of his migrant passengers, pleaded guilty Monday to federal charges stemming from the fatal wreck.
Kevin Antonio Quevedo-Moncada, of Lake Forest, crashed into a tree after speeding away from Border Patrol agents just before 6 p.m., Dec. 25, 2021.
According to prosecutors, the defendant picked up three people who entered the U.S. illegally near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry.
After Border Patrol agents attempted to stop his car near the Thousand Trails campground, Quevedo-Moncada drove off "rapidly and erratically" through the campground and struck a Border Patrol agent's vehicle.
During the ensuing pursuit, he lost control of the car and crashed down an embankment and into a tree off Otay Lakes Road.
One of his passengers died at the scene, while two others were hospitalized.
Court documents name the deceased victim as Gaudencio Gerardo Luna- Vasquez. A California Highway Patrol statement from the time of the crash identified the deceased passenger only as a 52-year-old man, and the injured passengers as a 19-year-old man and a 29-year-old man.
After the crash, Quevedo-Moncada climbed out of the car through the front windshield and fled, but was arrested, prosecutors say.
Court documents state he was to be paid $2,000 for the endeavor.
Quevedo-Moncada is due to be sentenced in January.
