Dormont hit-and-run suspect charged with being in the U.S. illegally for a 2nd time

Federal officials have begun the process to deport a Mexican national charged with a fatal hit-and-run crash Sept. 21 in Dormont.

Allegheny County Police charged Saul Rivera-Ramirez on Sunday with homicide by vehicle, accident involving death by an unlicensed driver and driving without a license, after they say he crashed into motorcyclist Christian Sluka, 23, of Dormont.

Rivera-Ramirez was initially identified as an Etna resident. However, officials with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement filed a sworn affidavit Thursday asserting that he is a Mexican national. They are charging him with illegal entry into the country.

Ramirez-Rivera was deported from the U.S. once already in 2019.

Court documents show he was prosecuted for illegal entry in February 2019 after crossing the southern border near Naco, Ariz. He was deported later that month.

The federal criminal complaint does not detail how Ramirez-Rivera reentered the U.S. and made his way to the Pittsburgh area.

According to court records, police said Sluka was at a red light near the intersection of Pioneer and West Liberty avenues in Dormont when he was struck by Ramirez-Rivera’s Ford Taurus, forcing him into oncoming traffic.

Ramirez-Rivera, his wife and two children were then seen on surveillance video getting out of the car and leaving the crash scene, police said in a criminal complaint.

He faces an Oct. 4 preliminary hearing. A court date on the federal charges was not available.