A 26-year-old Venezuelan national driving with a canceled license allegedly backed his SUV over an 82-year-old grandmother in a Publix parking lot crosswalk, killing her, and her family says they won't stop pushing for accountability.
Deborah Murphy was walking back to her car outside a Publix grocery store in Panama City Beach, Florida, on May 17 when a Toyota 4Runner struck her on the crosswalk. The arrest affidavit from the Florida Highway Patrol states the vehicle pushed Murphy to the ground and then continued backing up, "running over Ms. Murphy." She was taken to a hospital and died from injuries related to the crash.
Carlos Suarez-Contreras, 26, was behind the wheel. His front-seat passenger, Luis Sanabria, 29, told law enforcement under oath that Suarez-Contreras "was operating the vehicle at the time of the crash." Both men told deputies they were born in Venezuela. Both were determined to be in the country illegally, issued ICE detainers, and booked into the Bay County Sheriff's Office Jail.
Suarez-Contreras now faces a third-degree felony charge under Florida law: driving with a canceled license and causing a death. He submitted a written plea of not guilty and is being held without bond. Florida Highway Patrol records describe him as "a potential flight risk" because of his immigration status. His arraignment is set for August 17 at the Bay County Courthouse in Panama City.
The incident report paints a chaotic picture of the moments after the crash. Sanabria left the scene on foot before law enforcement arrived. A deputy noted he "only returned when I had Suarez-Contreras call him." The same deputy wrote that Suarez-Contreras gave "suspicious" answers to questions at the scene.
Sanabria, who was found to have an expired visa, was later released into ICE custody, Bay County Sheriff's Office public affairs specialist Jacob Navarro told Fox News Digital.
Under Florida law, an illegal immigrant cannot obtain a state-issued driver's license. The Georgia Department of Driver Services confirmed to Fox News Digital that Suarez-Contreras' Georgia license had been canceled but declined to say when, citing privacy reasons. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia do issue licenses to illegal immigrants, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, but Georgia and Florida are not among them.
The case is one more example of the real-world cost when immigration laws go unenforced. Across the country, Venezuelan nationals have faced serious federal charges tied to violent crime, raising persistent questions about how individuals in the country illegally obtained the documents and access needed to move freely through American communities.
Russell Ramey of Musca Law in Panama City, who represents Suarez-Contreras, pushed back on the charges in an email to Fox News Digital:
"It's simply an unfortunate incident and not criminal in nature."
Ramey added that his client "didn't commit any crime regarding the charges he was arrested on." The defense appears to rest on the argument that the crash was an accident, not a criminal act. But the felony charge does not require intent to harm. Under Florida law, driving with a canceled license and causing a death is a standalone offense. Suarez-Contreras was not legally permitted to drive in the first place.
Surveillance video from the Florida Highway Patrol captured the moments before the crash, footage that was released publicly in late July. The contents of the video have not been described in detail in public records.
The broader pattern of unlicensed drivers causing fatal crashes is not isolated to this case. Approximately 16 percent of fatal traffic crashes in the United States in 2024 involved drivers with invalid licenses, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That same year, 7,080 pedestrians were killed and more than 71,000 were injured in traffic crashes nationwide.
Florida is among the worst states for pedestrian safety. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reported 10,501 pedestrian-related crashes in 2024, resulting in 678 deaths. Panama City Beach, a tourist-heavy stretch of the Gulf Coast, sees heavy foot traffic near commercial areas like grocery store parking lots, exactly the kind of environment where a driver operating a vehicle without a valid license poses the greatest risk.
Deborah Murphy's twin daughters, Beth Schulz and Amy Edge, spoke with Fox News Digital by phone. Their grief was direct and unsparing. Murphy, they said, "touched so many lives as an amazing friend, teacher, mother and grandmother." They described her as "a light" who was "vibrant with so many more memories to be made."
The family also shared a written reflection Murphy had composed before her death, words that now carry a weight she could not have anticipated. The New York Post reported on the family's public push for accountability, amplifying the daughters' call for justice:
"My husband and I always felt that the best thing we could do for generations to come would be to leave this world with people who would make a difference. It has been a delight to witness one's own legacy. I thank my daughters for making our dream come true!!"
Murphy's husband, George Murphy, is a retired Air Force Colonel. The couple's legacy, by their own accounting, was the family they built and the people they shaped. That legacy was cut short in a grocery store parking lot by a man who should not have been behind the wheel, and, under federal law, should not have been in the country at all.
Schulz and Edge made their position plain:
"We're determined to find justice and see Suarez-Contreras held accountable for his reckless actions."
The question of accountability extends well beyond one courtroom in Panama City. Across the country, the tension between local enforcement and federal immigration policy continues to produce consequences for ordinary Americans. In some jurisdictions, local officials have openly defied federal deportation rulings, while in others, political leaders have used clemency powers in ways that shield foreign nationals from removal.
Key details remain unclear. How long had Suarez-Contreras been in the United States? How did he enter? When exactly was his Georgia license canceled, and did any agency flag his immigration status at that time? Has ICE initiated formal removal proceedings against either man? Are additional charges, beyond the current third-degree felony, under consideration?
None of those questions have been answered publicly. The Georgia Department of Driver Services declined to provide the cancellation date. The Florida Highway Patrol's arrest affidavit does not describe the specifics of Suarez-Contreras' "suspicious" answers to deputies. And no public statement has addressed whether surveillance footage from the Publix parking lot has been entered into evidence or what it shows in full.
Suarez-Contreras sits in the Bay County jail without bond, awaiting his August 17 arraignment. Sanabria is in ICE custody. Deborah Murphy is gone.
An 82-year-old woman walked into a grocery store and never came home. The man charged with her death was not supposed to be driving, and he was not supposed to be here. When the system fails at every checkpoint, entry, licensing, enforcement, the people who pay the price are the ones who followed every rule.
