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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Isabel Keane

Drunk driver who killed Las Vegas cop in wrong-way crash was undocumented, nearly three times over DWI limit

Las Vegas Police Officer Colton Pulsipher (above) was killed in a wrong-way crash after Fernando Jimenez-Jimenez, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, was driving with a blood-alcohol level three times over the legal limit. - (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)

An undocumented immigrant drunk driver who killed a Las Vegas police officer in a wrong-way crash last year was nearly three times over the legal blood-alcohol limit, according to a new report.

Fernando Jimenez-Jimenez, 31, crashed into 29-year-old LVMPD Officer Colton Pulsipher’s car on Dec. 12, 2024, killing both of them, KLAS reported.

Jimenez-Jimenez, who was an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.205 at the time of the crash, new documents revealed.

In addition to being over Nevada’s 0.08 limit, Jimenez-Jimenez also had THC, the main psychoactive chemical in marijuana, in his system and was driving between 91 and 99 mph, according to the report.

Jimenez-Jimenez had applied for U.S. citizenship in 2020, but was ordered to be removed from the country in 2021 by a Texas judge. He entered the country illegally twice in 2019 and was returned to Mexico each time by ICE.

Pulsipher, the officer killed in the crash, was a husband and father of three. He was off duty at the time and ob his way home, police said.

A third person who collided with Jimenez-Jimenez’s truck after the initial crash was also injured. According to authorities, there was also a man in the passenger seat of Jimenez-Jimenez’s truck, who walked off into the desert and was found asleep nine hours later.

The passenger told police that he and Jimenez-Jimenez worked for a landscaping company and that Jimenez-Jimenez drove to the desert to drink.

Inside the truck, police located several empty alcoholic beverage containers and receipts and packages from a marijuana dispensary.

Investigators were then able to locate a video of Jimenez-Jimenez and his passenger purchasing marijuana products through a drive-thru dispensary. The footage also showed Jimenez-Jimenez smoking while in the driver’s seat.

Jimenez-Jimenez’s truck was not registered in his name, but its owner never contacted police, according to documents.

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