SAN ANGELO, Texas — A 25-year-old Louisiana man was sentenced Thursday to life in prison for causing a crash three years ago that killed four people -- including a grandmother and her grandchild -- while fleeing law enforcement in a vehicle packed with undocumented immigrants in Central Texas.
Rassian Nateray Comer, who has been held in the Crockett County Jail since March 23, 2023, appeared before U.S. District Judge James Hendrix for a sentencing hearing after pleading guilty in June to a count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death, 11 counts of transportation of an illegal alien resulting in death and a count of possession of a stolen firearm.
He faced a punishment of up to life in prison, according to court documents.
Investigating a deadly crash involving immigrants in Texas
Comer's charges stem from a March 13, 2023, investigation after a chase that began in Terrell County and ended in Ozona in Crockett County, according to court records.
The document states that earlier that day, Comer fetched 11 undocumented immigrants from Sheffield and was taking them to San Antonio.
"The aliens were from Mexico and had recently entered the country illegally in or around March of 2023," said United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould during a February news conference to announce Comer's indictment.
Comer admitted that this was his fourth smuggling trip for an organization operated by a relative. He coordinated pickup locations through WhatsApp that traveled to Sheffield to fetch11 migrants he knew were in the country not legally.
Court records state a Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper stopped on Texas 349 spotted a 2021 silver Ram 1500 pickup truck with Arkansas license speeding northbound.
The trooper attempted a traffic stop, but the driver of the Ram, later identified as Comer, continued driving, getting on I-10 heading westbound.
The trooper gave chase, following the Ram into Crockett County, where the truck crossed the median twice and ultimately began driving east on westbound lanes of the interstate.
The trooper stopped chasing the Ram when he lost sight of it. However, a Crockett County Sheriff's Deputy spotted the Ram and began his own pursuit.
At some point during the chase, Comer began recording a video on Facebook Live. About a minute into the chase, he turns the camera to the rear-view mirror, which showed flashing emergency lights from the patrol vehicles chasing him. Then the camera turns to the speedometer, which displayed a speed of 105 mph, the indictment reads.
Voices speaking Spanish could be heard in the background of the video.
Comer reportedly exited the interstate and headed to Ozona where he entered an intersection on a red light at 84 mph and crashed into a pickup truck .
The red truck was occupied by 71-year-old Maria “Coke” Tambunga and her 7-year-old granddaughter Emilia Brooke.
Both died at the scene, the documents state.
Eight people, all of whom were undocumented immigrants, were found inside the truck Comer drove.
Three more people, also undocumented immigrants, were in the bed of the Ram. Two of them also died at the scene.
The remaining nine people Comer was taking to San Antonio suffered serious injuries.
Investigators also recovered from the Ram a 9 mm pistol that was reported stolen.
“This case lays bare a heartbreaking human tragedy — a grandmother, a 7-year-old child and two Mexican nationals were all killed because of Mr. Comer’s criminal and depraved actions,” Raybould said Friday in a statement. “These were innocent lives, stolen in an instant by an alien smuggler whose criminal actions showed complete disregard for everyone on the road. No sentence can restore what was lost, but it does send a clear message: when criminals gamble with human lives, we will respond with the full weight of the federal government to ensure victims receive justice.”
Brooke and Tambunga's family said in a statement that Comer's actions shattered their family.
They said his punishment will not bring closure for their loss.
"There are no words that can adequately express the unbearable impact of losing Mom and Emilia," the statement reads. "The killing of Mom and Emilia is immeasurable. Losing our seven-year-old daughter, granddaughter and niece, Emilia Brooke Tambunga and Mom Coke, left us only with fierce commitment and determination to enact sweeping change and to hold this animal accountable. Losing Mom, wife, and Grandma Maria “Coke” Tambunga has left us untethered. Losing Emilia Brooke left us fractured with a gaping wound. Nothing can undo what this animal did, but it does affirm something important: their lives mattered, their deaths mattered, and what was done to them could not simply go unanswered."
Gabriel Monte is the criminal justice reporter for the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal in Texas. Have a news tip for him? Email him at gmonte@lubbockonline.com.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Human smuggler sentenced to life in prison for deadly Ozona crash
