Man on tourist visa dies after running into path of truck while fleeing ICE stop in Florida

Juan Jairo Coronilla Durán, 28, died July 14 after he was struck by a tractor trailer in St. Augustine, Florida. Florida Highway Patrol said he darted across a busy road from a gas station parking lot on SR 16 into the path of the truck before 7 a.m.

Coronilla Durán was one of four people in a vehicle that stopped in the lot. The group fled on foot during an encounter with agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations.

It remains unclear what prompted the stop or what happened to the other three occupants. The Independent reported that Coronilla Durán was visiting the United States on a tourist visa and was not working. He had traveled from San Luis de la Paz, Guanajuato, Mexico, to Atlanta to see family and friends, stayed in Georgia for three weeks, and then went to Florida’s east coast.

His wife, Yezzika Alamilla, contacted Colectivo Arbol the day after the death for help repatriating his remains. The group bought her a plane ticket and provided lodging for three days. The Mexican consulate has assisted her since.

Coronilla Durán and Alamilla had two children, a 7-month-old girl and a 7-year-old boy. His body will be viewed at a Florida funeral home before transport on a commercial flight from Orlando for burial in San Luis de la Paz. The death was the third in roughly a week involving encounters with ICE agents and at least the 10th since President Trump launched his mass deportation campaign last year.

The Mexican government has asked state attorneys general to review deaths of migrants in ICE custody or during raids for possible criminal prosecution. U.S. authorities have not publicly identified the man.