Family of Bedford County Woman Allegedly Killed by Illegal Immigrant Files Lawsuit

The family of a Bedford County woman that an alleged illegal immigrant killed in a traffic accident last fall has filed a lawsuit seeking nearly $23 million in damages. Specifically, the family of Keri King, including her siblings Cheri Blackwell and William King, want $7.5 million in compensatory damages and $15 million in punitive damages. As The Tennessee Star reported last fall, that alleged illegal immigrant, Edgar Torres Rangel, was allegedly intoxicated when he killed King in a traffic accident. The lawsuit names seven people as defendants, including Torres Rangel and people affiliated with Rancho La Herradura, the Mexican rodeo where he allegedly got drunk a few hours before the wreck. Other defendants the lawsuit names include Constantino Bonilla, Serio Ortega, John David Puckett, Holly Puckett, Leovigildo Lara, and Yolisma Lara, who are all said to involve themselves with Rancho La Herradura in different capacities. The lawsuit says these individuals operated a nuisance “by permitting, encouraging, and profiting from illegal gambling, and drunkenness.” The document goes on to say they conducted business “for the purposes of illegal gambling, public intoxication, drunkenness, and the natural and foreseeable result of their operation, driving under the influence of alcohol on the streets and…

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Marsha Blackburn Cites Tennessee Tragedy in Defending Wall Along Mexican Border

Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee has weighed in on the case of an alleged illegal immigrant who killed a man in Knoxville in a head-on car crash. Blackburn said border security is a priority. As The Tennessee Star reported, authorities charged Franco Cambrany Francisco-Eduardo, 44, with criminally negligent homicide, not having a driver’s license and failure to have proof of financial responsibility (having no insurance). The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has a hold on him. Francisco-Eduardo, of Oak Ridge, is accused of killing Pierce Corcoran, 22. The Knoxville Police Department said Francisco-Eduardo’s Chevy pickup hit Corcoran’s Honda Civic, causing a chain reaction. Corcoran and passenger Jade Adams, 21, were transported to UT Medical Center, where Corcoran was later pronounced dead. Blackburn made her remarks about the case on FOX & Friends Monday. “It is devastating. And, of course, we grieve and mourn with these families that have lost loved ones to illegal immigration,” Blackburn said. “And every time I meet with an Angel Mom, my heart just breaks. And this is why every town’s a border town and every state’s a border state until we secure that southern border.” Blackburn also said President Donald Trump is “so…

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ICE Places Hold on Immigrant Charged With Criminally Negligent Homicide in Fatal Knoxville Accident

A man charged in the vehicular death Saturday of a Knoxville Fire Department captain’s son also has an ICE hold on his arrest, WBIR reported. Franco Cambrany Francisco-Eduardo, 44 has been charged with criminally negligent homicide, not having a driver’s license and failure to have proof of financial responsibility (having no insurance), WBIR said. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has a hold on him. Francisco-Eduardo, of Oak Ridge, is accused of killing Pierce Corcoran, 22 in the crash that happened on Chapman Highway around 6:30 p.m. Saturday, WVLT said. The Knoxville Police Department said Francisco-Eduardo’s Chevy pickup, which was heading north, crossed into the opposite lanes and hit Corcoran’s Honda Civic, causing a chain reaction. Corcoran and passenger Jade Adams, 21, were transported to UT Medical Center, where Corcoran was later pronounced dead, WVLT said. Adams was treated for her injuries. The other drivers were not injured. Corcoran was the son of Knoxville Fire Department Capt. and Public Information Officer D.J. Corcoran. Corcoran’s obituary by Stevens Mortuary said: In his 22 years, he tried his hand at every sport possible, developing a love of golf, soccer, tennis and running 2 marathons in 2017. He became an advocate for eating…

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Sister of Keri King Pleads for Justice, Describes Her Kindness in Life

Writer’s Note: The sister of Keri King wants law enforcement to find the man authorities charged with killing her sister while driving drunk in Bedford County in October.   King’s sister, Cheri Blackwell, wrote and submitted a letter to The Tennessee Star Thursday pleading for justice. Blackwell’s letter also described what her sister Keri was like in life. As Tennessee Star reported, Edgar Torres-Rangel, an alleged illegal immigrant, was intoxicated in late October when he hit and killed King, 29, as she was on her way home. Torres-Rangel sustained his own injuries in the crash. Authorities transported him to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He later escaped the facility without anyone noticing. Officers with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation recently placed Torres-Rangel on their 10 Most Wanted List. Blackwell’s letter is below. My sister, Keri Lanaye King was born December 1, 1988. I was a junior in high school when my parents announced they were expecting a sweet baby girl. My world would be changed forever. Keri helped mold me into the person I am today. My lifelong connection with this beautiful girl began the day she was born. I had such a love for her that it was indescribable. Our lives took a…

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Family of Keri King Needs Financial Help After Alleged Illegal Immigrant Killed Her

If you’re out on the roads in Tennessee and a reckless driver without insurance kills you then your surviving family members might have to pay a massive sum of money for hospital bills or funeral costs. Especially if the driver is an alleged illegal immigrant who escaped the custody of the Tennessee Highway Patrol and is currently a fugitive. That’s exactly what the family of Keri King is dealing with right now in Bedford County — they have more than $35,000 in hospital and funeral costs brought on through someone else’s negligence. But, fortunately for them, staff members of a Shelbyville bank are collecting funds to help. As The Tennessee Star reported, Edgar Torres-Rangel was intoxicated in late October when he hit and killed King, 29, as she was on her way home. Torres-Rangel sustained his own injuries in the crash. Authorities transported him to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He later escaped the facility without anyone noticing. Officers with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation recently placed Torres-Rangel on their 10 Most Wanted List. Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance spokesman Kevin Walters told The Star Monday Tennessee law requires drivers to carry insurance. “Because Tennessee is an ‘at fault’ state, the…

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Edgar Torres-Rangel Case and Patient Death Raise Questions About Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville now has not but one two black eyes, first with the Edgar Torres-Rangel escape and now a patient dying unnecessarily. As The Tennessee Star reported, Torres-Rangel, an alleged illegal immigrant, drove drunk and killed a woman in Bedford County in late October. Tennessee Highway Patrol officers worked that crash. Torres-Rangel sustained injuries of his own, and authorities transported him to Vanderbilt. He later walked out of the hospital without anyone notifying authorities. His present whereabouts are unknown. As reported, THP officials blame Vanderbilt for not notifying them of Torres-Rangel’s release. Vanderbilt spokeswoman John Howser told The Star Friday that the hospital is responsible for caring for patients despite the circumstances prior to their admission. “In instances where someone may have committed a criminal act we do not assume legal custody of offenders as this is the responsibility of law enforcement agencies who have jurisdiction to place or hold individuals under arrest, even in the hospital setting,” Howser said in an emailed statement. “By now, most area law enforcement agencies are aware that as a health care provider VUMC does not hold patients under arrest and understand that they bear the responsibility for offender custody.…

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Current Tennessee Law Might Have Prevented Edgar Torres-Rangel Escape, If Followed

Former Republican State Rep. Joe Carr (R-Lascassas) said law enforcement officers would still have Edgar Torres-Rangel in their custody if they had only followed a law he sponsored that was passed by the Tennessee General Assembly several years ago. That law, named after Ricky Otts, went into effect in July 2012, Carr said. Otts died several years ago while riding his motorcycle in Tennessee. An illegal immigrant with no driver’s license or insurance killed Otts, Carr said. “It wasn’t an arrestable offense. He didn’t have a driver’s license or insurance, so they let him go, which is typically what law enforcement does when they don’t have a drivers’ license or insurance because they can’t afford to detain these people,” Carr said. The law Carr sponsored that was passed by the Tennessee General Assembly and signed by the governor required that drivers, if they cause a serious injury or a fatality, face a magistrate for arraignment. “There is no mention in the law of illegal immigrants or immigrants. But they are the primary perpetrators of this kind of activity, driving without insurance, driving without a license and it also makes them a significant flight risk,” Carr said. As The Tennessee Star…

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Edgar Torres-Rangel Has Prior Arrest in Kentucky

Edgar Torres-Rangel, an alleged illegal immigrant on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Top 10 Most Wanted list and charged with killing a Bedford County woman, has had at least one other documented run-in with the law. That arrest happened five years ago in Barren County, KY, according to online records from that county’s detention center. Officers with the Glasgow Police Department arrested Torres-Rangel in August 2013 and charged him with operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs – first offense. They also charged him with not having a moped operator’s license. According to drive.ky.gov, the local circuit court clerk’s office issues moped licenses. Torres was released from custody later that day. No other information was available about the arrest or what happened afterward. An unidentified officer with the Barren County Sheriff’s Office told The Tennessee Star Friday that any other officials who could shed light on that arrest, including employees of the county courthouse, were unavailable. This was one day after the Thanksgiving holiday. TBI officials used Torres-Rangel’s mugshot from this arrest and released it to the media after they put him on their Top 10 Most Wanted list. According to the TBI’s Facebook page, members…

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Edgar Torres-Rangel Now on TBI Top 10 List

Edgar Torres-Rangel is now on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Top 10 Most Wanted list. As The Tennessee Star reported, Torres-Rangel is an alleged illegal alien who drove drunk and killed a Bedford County woman, Keri King, last month. According to the TBI’s Facebook page, members of both that agency and the Tennessee Highway Patrol want Torres-Rangel on charges of vehicular homicide. Both agencies have kicked in reward money, which totals up to $5,000 for information leading to his arrest, according to the TBI’s Facebook page. TBI spokesman Josh DeVine told The Star that agency officials decided to put Torres-Rangel on their list Tuesday. “We place people on our top 10 when they are wanted to face serious offenses and when there is some reason to believe that putting a little bit of reward money behind it might help to raise the profile of the case and might lead to tips that might lead to the individual’s capture,” DeVine said. “We were contacted by the Tennessee Highway Patrol. They indicated they had put up reward money and requested that we do the same, and we agreed that this is an individual that we would like to see in law enforcement…

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Tennessee Woman Killed by Alleged Illegal Immigrant Was ‘An Angel’ in Life

Bedford County resident Keri King, 29, was one of the finest people Jeff Boyce ever knew. She didn’t deserve to die the way that she did, because of the actions of an alleged illegal immigrant, said Boyce, who lives in Cannon County. As The Tennessee Star reported, Omar Edgar Torres-Rangel drove drunk last month and killed King as she drove home from Murfreesboro. Boyce said he feels sadness. He also has rage. Sadness because a woman he called “an angel” no longer walks the earth. Rage because Torres-Rangel escaped from law enforcement. Rage, again, because King’s surviving family members say law enforcement won’t give them any answers. “One minute I’m so angry I can’t even explain how angry I am, and it makes me so sad I want to cry,” Boyce told The Tennessee Star Tuesday, before his voice broke and he started sobbing. Boyce said wants to lobby members of the Tennessee General Assembly to act to make sure nothing like this happens again in Tennessee, although he did not specify how they could do that. “I will spend every penny I’ve got to run a damn front page ad in every paper in this state right before election…

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