HSI Investigation Leads to Life Sentence for Smuggler Who Killed Four in High-Speed Pursuit While Smuggling Illegal Aliens

The culprit was smuggling 11 illegal aliens into the country when he caused the fatal crash that killed a grandmother and her 7-year-old granddaughter

WASHINGTON - The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the following statement after an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) led to the sentencing of a smuggler to life in prison after he caused a fatal crash in Texas that killed four people while he was smuggling illegal aliens into the United States in 2023.

According to local reports, the fatal crash took place on March 13, 2023. The culprit, Rassian Nateray Comer, a United States citizen from Louisiana, was driving a vehicle with 11 illegal aliens from Mexico inside when a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) trooper tried to pull him over. Comer fled, leading police on a chase that exceeded 100 miles per hour. Comer even streamed the chase on Facebook Live, showing the police cars in pursuit and showing off his speedometer reading 105.

Comer streamed the high-speed pursuit on Facebook Live

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 illegal aliens suffered serious injuries. Comer was arrested at the scene, admitting that it was his fourth smuggling trip, and also admitting to possessing a stolen handgun that was found in his vehicle.

The vehicle that the victims, Maria Tambunga and her granddaughter Emilia Brooke Tambunga, were in during the crash

The vehicle that Comer was driving during the crash, which was smuggling 11 illegal aliens

On June 18, 2026, Comer pleaded guilty to one count ofconspiracy 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 that Comer was sentenced to life in prison.

"This horrific tragedy is almost beyond words," said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. "This monster was already trying to cause more chaos and destruction by smuggling illegal aliens into this country, then decided to lead police on a high-speed chase that claimed the lives of a grandmother and her granddaughter. 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. Thanks to our partners at the Department of Justice, this scumbag will spend the rest of his life behind bars, where he belongs. My thoughts and prayers are with the Tambunga family, who have suffered a loss that few of us can even imagine."

"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," said U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould. "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."

"Comer's reckless actions turned a human-smuggling run into an unimaginable tragedy that took the lives of four people, including a grandmother and her young granddaughter," said HSI Dallas Acting Deputy Special Agent in Charge Judy Pardo. "He 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. This sentence holds him accountable for that devastating choice. HSI will continue to work with our partners to pursue the smuggling networks that profit from human lives and leave tragedy in their wake."

Homeland Security Investigations 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. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey R. Haag, West Texas Branch Chief, prosecuted the case.

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