Interstate 5 traffic death won't result in deportation

BREMERTON — A man convicted in the drunken-driving death of a 20-year-old woman may soon complete his prison sentence and walk free, despite her family's pleas that he be deported.

Ngere Omari, whose car struck one driven by Heather Lee Meadows head-on in 2005 as he drove the wrong way down Interstate 5, could be released as early as July.

After he was sentenced to more than six years in prison, Omari, who Meadows' family says is from Rwanda and was granted amnesty in the United States, had a "hold" placed on him by the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It appeared that he was eligible for deportation.

But that hold was lifted in December, says the state Department of Corrections.

"It's frustrating," said Leah Meadows, Heather Meadows' mother.

ICE spokeswoman Lorie Dankers said she can't speak to Omari's immigration status because of her agency's privacy policy. But she said a court decision in 2005 by the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the crime of vehicular homicide was not one that warrants "removal" from the country.

"And as a law-enforcement agency we have to follow the law," Dankers said.

The court's decision — written by then-Appellate Judge Samuel Alito, now a Supreme Court justice — ruled that because vehicular homicide does not involve "intentional use" of force, it is not a deportable offense.

Omari, 30, at the time of the crash, was on probation and had a suspended license for a previous DUI when he struck Meadows' car March 13, 2005.

Meadows died almost instantly. Her passenger was seriously hurt, and Omari suffered a broken leg.

Omari, with a 0.18 percent blood-alcohol level after the crash, received the maximum sentence. With credit for good behavior, he could be released early from Monroe Correction Complex.