Omaha, Nebraska (RI) — The Honduran man charged with killing an Iowa woman in 2016 is back in the United States, where he will stand trial for Sarah Root’s death.
Iowa Senator Joni Ernst was at the Omaha airport when Eswin Mejia arrived late Friday afternoon.
Twenty-one-year-old Sarah Root of Council Bluffs — who had just graduated from college hours earlier — was at a red light in Omaha when her vehicle was struck and she died at the scene. Meija, who was in the country illegally, was arrested and accused of drunk driving. He posted a five-thousand-dollar bond, was released, and disappeared. On February 27th of this year, Honduras officials notified the Trump Administration they had Meija in custody and he was extradited to the US Friday.
Ernst notified the Root family earlier Friday afternoon that Meija was being flown to the US and she spoke with Sarah Root’s mother, Michelle.
Trump met with Root’s mother and her father, Scott Root, in mid-2016 and Trump talked about their daughter’s death on the campaign trail. The first bill Trump signed into law this year includes what’s called “Sarah’s Law.”
It requires authorities to detain any illegal immigrant who is accused of murdering or seriously injuring someone in the US. Ernst and other members of Iowa’s congressional delegation had sponsored the legislation for the past eight years.
Meija is being held in Omaha. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted photos of Meija’s flight on social media and wrote that President Trump is putting the safety of Americans first and will no longer allow murderers and criminal illegal aliens to be released into American communities.
