A man from El Salvador who entered the United States illegally was sentenced to one year in prison after being convicted of killing University of South Carolina student Nate Baker in a hit-and-run incident. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a statement regarding the sentencing and future actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The incident occurred on April 2, 2025, when Rosali Fernandez-Cruz struck Baker, who was riding a motorcycle near the university’s campus in Richland County, South Carolina. After the collision, Fernandez-Cruz fled without providing assistance.
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated: “21-year-old USC student Nathaniel ‘Nate’ Baker was driving a motorcycle when he was hit by a truck driver who fled the scene. The hit-and-run driver, Rosali Isaac Fernandez-Cruz, was in our country illegally and received just 1 year in prison for taking Nate’s precious life. ICE lodged a detainer to ensure as soon as this killer completes his one-year prison sentence that ICE is notified to arrest him and get him OUT of our country,” she said. “Nate was a 21-year-old college student with his whole life in front of him. This monster should never have been in our country and has had a final order of removal since 2018.”
According to DHS, Fernandez-Cruz entered the United States without authorization in December 2016 and had been released into the country by officials at that time. In 2018, an immigration judge ordered his removal from the United States.
ICE has placed an arrest detainer on Fernandez-Cruz so that after he completes his prison sentence, he will be taken into custody by immigration authorities for removal from the country.
