An emotional video shows a grieving mother delivering compassion to her son’s alleged killer.
Video from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Victims of Immigrant Crime Engagement (VOICE) office showed Elizabeth Carter, the mother of William Carter, speaking to the Indian illegal immigrant semi-truck driver charged with killing her son and his newlywed wife. The couple perished in an Oregon highway crash in November 2025.
“Hello Mr. Kumar, my name is Elizabeth Carter; I’m William Micah Carter’s mother,” she told Rajinder Kumar, 32, fighting back tears and emotion as he appeared to struggle to meet her gaze. “And I wanted you to know that I pray for you and your family, I know you didn’t get up that morning planning to kill two newlyweds. And I know your family is going through something important too.”
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The interaction took place at the passenger window of an ICE vehicle earlier this month as federal agents prepared to transfer Kumar back to Oregon state custody to face criminal prosecution. Kumar faces two counts of first-degree manslaughter and three counts of recklessly endangering another person in Deschutes County stemming from the fatal wreck.
Kumar is accused of killing William Micah Carter, 25, and his wife, Jennifer Lynn Lower, 24, who had been married for just 16 days.
The deadly collision occurred on Nov. 24, 2025, when Kumar allegedly jackknifed his commercial tractor-trailer across U.S. Highway 20, blocking both lanes of traffic. The couple’s Subaru Outback struck the semi, killing both passengers at the scene.
Kumar was subsequently indicted by a Deschutes County grand jury. While he pleaded not guilty in state court, a jurisdictional battle erupted between federal and local authorities following his release.
Court and immigration records show that Kumar entered the United States unlawfully near Lukeville, Ariz., on Nov. 28, 2022, when he was apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol and subsequently released into the country under the Biden administration pending removal proceedings. During that period, he was granted federal work authorization and later obtained a commercial driver’s license (CDL) issued by the State of California.
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Following Kumar’s indictment in Oregon, ICE lodged an immigration detainer requesting that Deschutes County Jail notify federal agents before releasing him. County corrections officials declined to honor the federal detainer on April 2 and released Kumar into the community under Oregon’s state sanctuary policies.
ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Seattle agents tracked down and arrested Kumar in connection with his immigration case on April 22, detaining him at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Wash., while moving forward with federal removal proceedings.
ICE ERO Seattle announced it has returned Kumar to Deschutes County authorities to ensure he faces a local trial on the felony manslaughter charges before any deportation orders are executed.
“Two Americans lost their lives, and their families deserve accountability,” ICE ERO Seattle acting Field Office Director Julio Hernandez said. “ICE worked closely with law enforcement partners to ensure Kumar is returned to state custody to answer for the serious charges against him.
“This coordinated action protects the public, supports the victims’ families, and ensures that an individual accused of these crimes does not evade justice.”
Department of Homeland Security officials confirmed that federal deportation proceedings remain paused while Oregon state prosecutors pursue the criminal charges against Kumar, with criminal trial proceedings pending in Deschutes County Circuit Court.
