Texas lawmaker demands justice after Air Force cadet killed by illegal migrant suspects in hit-and-run
Texas Rep. Beth Van Duyne, who had twice personally sponsored 18-year-old Ava Moore's application to the Air Force Academy, says the incident should never have happened and is demanding accountability.
"I am still livid about what happened and why it happened," Van Duyne told "Fox & Friends" Friday. The Republican congresswoman says she's been in contact with border czar Tom Homan in the wake of the accident and is committed to securing justice for the victim's family.
Moore, a young cadet from Texas, was kayaking when she was allegedly struck by a jet ski operated by an illegal migrant. She was weeks away from leaving to start Air Force basic training. The Department of Homeland Security reports that the two migrants involved in the crash then fled the scene without offering help, leaving Moore to die.
DHS has identified the suspects as being Daikerlyn Alejandraa Gonzalez-Gonzalez, who is said to have been driving the jet ski, and Maikel Alexander Coello-Perozo, both foreign nationals who entered the United States illegally in 2023 and were released under the Biden administration.
After fleeing the scene, the suspects reportedly struck two vehicles while attempting to escape. Both were later taken into custody and ICE lodged immigration detainers to begin the removal process after criminal proceedings take place.
Van Duyne described Moore as a "determined" leader and "a phenomenal woman" with a bright future ahead. She said while she is grateful the suspects have been apprehended, she believes the tragedy was avoidable.
"These two Venezuelan illegal immigrants who should never have been in our country," she said, "who just recklessly were on a jet ski and smashed into Ava as she was home with her family before she was getting ready to go to boot camp."
"She was out on a kayak. She got hit and they just left her there in the water to die."
One of the suspects is facing a second-degree felony manslaughter charge, while the other has been charged with misdemeanors of collision involving damage to a vehicle and hindering apprehension.
Van Duyne said she's been in contact with Moore's family since her death, and that her father is turning to faith during the difficult time.
"I said, 'I'm so angry about what happened, I'm so angry about it,'" she recalled. "And he said, 'I'm going to stop you there. I'm not [going to] be led by anger.' This is a tremendous man of faith, of kindness, of patience, and forgiveness. And he just said that is the way that Ava would want us to remember her."
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