A smuggler who caused a fatal crash in Texas that killed four people while transporting 11 illegal aliens into the United States has been sentenced to life in prison following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Rassian Nateray Comer, a United States citizen from Louisiana, was driving a vehicle carrying 11 illegal aliens from Mexico on March 13, 2023, when a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper tried to pull him over. Comer fled, leading police on a chase that exceeded 100 miles per hour and streaming the pursuit on Facebook Live, showing the police cars behind him and his speedometer reading 105.
The chase ended in Ozona when Comer ran a red light and struck a pickup truck driven by Maria Tambunga, who had her 7-year-old granddaughter Emilia Brooke Tambunga with her. The crash killed both of them as well as two of the 11 illegal aliens in Comer's vehicle, while the other nine suffered serious injuries. Comer was arrested at the scene, admitting it was his fourth smuggling trip and that he possessed a stolen handgun found in his vehicle.
On June 18, 2026, Comer pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death, 11 counts of transportation of an illegal alien resulting in death, and one count of possession of a stolen firearm. On September 25, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas announced he was sentenced to life in prison.
"This horrific tragedy is almost beyond words," said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. "Maria Tambunga and Emilia Brooke Tambunga should still be alive today, and they would be if it weren't for this criminal who endangered so many lives just for profit."
U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould said the case "lays bare a heartbreaking human tragedy," adding that "when criminals gamble with human lives, we will respond with the full weight of the federal government to ensure victims receive justice."
HSI Dallas Acting Deputy Special Agent in Charge Judy Pardo said Comer "showed a callous disregard for the lives of the people he transported, the law enforcement officers pursuing him, and the innocent family sharing the road that night." HSI conducted the investigation with assistance from the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Crockett County Sheriff's Office, the Texas Border Prosecution Unit, and the 112th Judicial District Attorney's Office.