Unlicensed Mexican illegal driving crashes into elderly Butler County driver

A Mexican national driving without a license crashed into an elderly driver in Ohio and was released by the local police department, prompting the Butler County Sheriff’s Office to take him into custody on an immigration hold.

The driver, 26-year-old Hidalgo Salvador Hernandez, rear-ended a vehicle driven by a 91-year-old man on State Route 42.

The West Chester Police Department responded to the traffic crash on Sept. 14 and determined Hernandez was at fault, as well as in the country illegally, but let him go.

West Chester Township is in Butler County, Ohio, north of Cincinnati, and the most populous township in the state.

Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones took to social media to discuss the incident.

“This 91-year-old goes to work almost every day,” Jones said in his video. “He doesn’t work because it’s fun. He goes to work because he needs the money.”

During the investigation into the accident, West Chester officers found out Hernandez was an illegal immigrant from Mexico. They issued citations for assured clear distance ahead, no driver’s license and no car insurance. He was then released, Jones said.

The Butler County Sheriff’s Office learned of Hernandez’s release, tracked him down and took him into custody on a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold.

Jones said he entered the country four years ago under the Biden administration. He was transported to the Butler County Jail for the immigration detainer.

“If you come here illegally and you drive cars illegally and you hit people and you don’t have insurance, think of this 91-year-old man,” Jones said in the video. “He has to have his car fixed now. He has to pay for that because this dude is not going to pay for it.”

“The guy is in jail and he’s going to be deported. And thank God he’s not out driving again,” Jones added.

Jones said Butler County has the authority to issue an immigration detainer and West Chester police could have contacted his office or “had the courtesy to call ICE and get this guy off the road.”

The sheriff said West Chester police knew he was an illegal immigrant. The officers do a “great job,” Jones said, and instead he railed on the West Chester Township Police Chief Brian Rebholz and other township officials for their policies.

“It’s the police chief,” Jones said. “It’s his policy personally that they do not arrest, they don’t call us for these illegals.”

In a news release also shared to Facebook, Sheriff Jones added the Butler County Sheriff’s Office has personnel available around the clock to assist other law enforcement agencies with immigration-related matters.

“I have said time and time again: if another law enforcement agency in Butler County encounters someone they determine may be in this country illegally, contact us,” Jones said. “We have 287(g)-trained deputies and detectives available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We are ready to assist.”

Another video from Jones made national news in November 2025 after an illegal immigrant from Guatemala allegedly crashed into an Ohio nurse while driving drunk.

Johen Perez-Ventura, 27, had four prior DUIs, among other arrests, and was previously deported before the crash that injured Courtney Steinmetz.

Investigators said Steimetz was hit head-on by Perez-Ventura in Liberty Township, Ohio. He was charged with aggravated vehicular assault, driving without a license and obstruction of justice, Jones said.

In 2023, Perez-Ventura was arrested and charged with drunk driving in West Chester and released, Jones said. In 2024, he was arrested twice for drunk driving, and released again.

Steinmetz was seriously injured in the head-on crash, and Perez-Ventura had to be extracted from his vehicle.

“You and I have to pay for this crap when they’re in the hospital and they have to cut them out and all of the injuries,” Jones continued in the video. “The lady was in intensive care. Her back was broken and they continue to do this.”

Sheriff Jones added: “I’m not okay with this. This is in Butler County. I am not going to tolerate it.”

This accident adds to a recent string of fatalities allegedly caused by illegal immigrant drivers in the state.

On Sept. 6, authorities arrested Alvaro Uribe-Gonzalez, a Mexican national who was driving without a license, after a suspected DUI crash that killed a 23-year-old teacher and severely injured his fiancée in Fairfield County, Ohio.

Uribe-Gonzalez, 33, is an illegal immigrant who was deported in 2020 and illegally reentered the country, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said.

On Sept. 2, a 50-year-old mother of two was also killed in Brown County, Ohio, by an illegal immigrant trucker who attempted to pass another vehicle, witnesses said.

The semi-truck driver, 39-year-old Manjit Singh, collided head-on with a car driven by Brenda Watson of West Union, Ohio. Singh was arrested and charged with aggravated vehicular homicide following the crash. He also had an ICE hold lodged against him.

Singh gave an address of Fresno, California, according to WXIX FOX 19. DHS said he is from India and entered the country illegally.

The suspect was released into the country by the Biden administration and obtained a commercial driver’s license in California, DHS shared in a news release.