Man accused of killing Chatham County teacher while fleeing ICE agents appears in court

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) — Oscar Vasquez-Lopez, the man charged with vehicular homicide in the death of Chatham County elementary school teacher Dr. Linda Davis, appeared in court Thursday.

Recorder’s Court Judge Crystal Harmon determined there was sufficient probable cause for the charges and bound the case up to Superior Court.

Testimony details crash

Chatham County Police Officer Kirby Pulliam testified that data from Lopez’s truck showed he was traveling 68 miles per hour in a 35 miles per hour zone five seconds before crashing into Davis’ car. The department also has evidence Lopez attempted to brake in the final second before the collision.

Pulliam said the crash occurred while federal law enforcement agents were pursuing Lopez. He referenced dashcam video and security footage from Hesse Elementary School as evidence.

The crash involved Lopez, Davis, and a third person who did not sustain injuries. The damage to Davis’ vehicle was severe enough that the fire department had to cut off the roof before she could be removed.

“Miss Davis was entrapped in the vehicle. She was conscious, from officers’ testimony, she was conscious on their arrival, but they could not get her out of the vehicle because of the damage to the vehicle,” Pulliam said.

Federal agent interviews described as difficult

Pulliam testified that six federal agents were involved in the chase. He said he conducted one interview with a federal law enforcement agent at the scene, but that obtaining additional interviews has been difficult.

“Most of these agents are associated with different agencies, so getting interviews with these gentleman has been challenging based on different agencies involved,” Pulliam said.

The Chatham County Police Department is still awaiting Davis’ autopsy results. Her preliminary cause of death is listed as multiple blunt force trauma injuries.

Lopez was not granted bond. His case has not yet been indicted by a grand jury.

Background: The crash and initial charges

CCPD officers responded to the crash around 7:45 a.m. on the day of the incident, near one of its precincts. Preliminary information shows the Department of Homeland Security was conducting an operation in the area of the Truman Parkway and attempted to pull Lopez over. Lopez did not stop, and ICE agents began pursuing him before he crashed into Davis’ vehicle.

Davis was transported to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Lopez was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Lopez is charged with first-degree homicide by vehicle, reckless driving, driving without a valid license, and failure to obey a traffic control device.

According to a DHS press release, Lopez is from Guatemala and entered the United States illegally at an unknown time. A federal judge signed a final order of removal for Lopez in 2024. Chatham County Sheriff’s Office records show Lopez has no prior criminal history in the county.

County officials say they were unaware of DHS operation

CCPD said the department was not aware that DHS or ICE was conducting operations in the area, and that no CCPD officers were part of the chase.

Chatham County Chairman Chester Ellis said that had the county been informed, there likely would have been a way to arrest Lopez without endangering others.

“I’m saying to the President on down to all of our national leaders, there’s a better way to do this. And I think if you allow us to be at the table to draw out strategies and come up with ways of doing things, we can prevent this,” Ellis said.

Ellis also noted that local law enforcement agencies in Chatham County have restrictive chase policies and would not have been able to take the same action ICE did.

“We have a no chase policy, and the no-chase policy is to help protect our citizens more than it is anything else. So there may have been a different way to corner the individual so that he could not run, or that he could not cause the accident that took the life of Dr. Davis,” Ellis said.

CCPD Chief Jeff Hadley said Davis’ death was likely preventable.

“Condolences to the Davis family, Savannah Chatham public schools, and anyone that’s affected by this. As the Chairman stated, this is really unfortunate and more than likely, preventable,” Hadley said.