Bill O'Reilly Says Virginia Beach Accountable in Death of Teens at Hands of Illegal Immigrant

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA. Tragedy struck recently in Virginia Beach when two young girls with their lives still ahead of them were needless killed. Their death came at the hands of a drunken driver who should not have been driving at all. The killer, Alfredo Ramos, was an illegal immigrant with a long list of traffic related violations.

Ramos was charged with manslaughter in the deaths of Allison Kunhardt, 17, and Tessa Tranchant, 16. It was not his first DUI conviction. He was convicted of DUI in Chesapeake, Virginia earlier this year . He also has a public intoxication conviction in Virginia Beach, as well as two other convictions for identity theft and for failure to wear a seat belt. Other outstanding charges include driving without a license and driving without insurance.

According to local police reports, Ramos was traveling at high speed in a 1998 Mitsubishi down Virginia Beach Boulevard. He slammed into the rear of Allison Kunhardt's Plymouth Duster, which was stopped at a red light. The two girls, who were best friends, were pinned inside the vehicle. Emergency personnel finally managed to cut open the care and pull them free of the wreckage. Paramedics were on hand to tend immediately to the girls; however, one of them was pronounced dead at the scene. Both girls were transported via ambulance to a local hospital where the second girl subsequently died.

Everyone involved in the accident was wearing their seatbelts. Ramos suffered only minor cuts, bruises, and miscellaneous injuries.

On April 2^nd, Ramos, age 22, was arraigned on the manslaughter charges. He told the judge that he had no memory of the accident al all and admitted to being in the country illegally. Ramos, who was born in Mexico, has been in the U.S. for approximately seven years. He was working as a waiter at a popular Virginia Beach Mexican restaurant - - Mi Casita.

If convicted of the manslaughter charges, Ramos could face deportation according to U.S. immigration laws. Such laws provide for the legal deportation of any illegal alien criminally convicted for committing either a felony or crime of moral turpitude. This covers most theft crimes (except identity theft), rape, manslaughter, and murder.

Over the weekend of March 31^st and April 1^st, friends of teenage girls flocked to the crash site to drop off flowers and cards. A candlelight vigil was also held at Mount Trashmore (on Independence Boulevard, Virginia Beach) this past week so that teens could lean on each other for support and offer their condolences to the grieving families. Janice Lane, a minister and Kunhardt's aunt, led the short service.

Ever since the senseless death of the teens on Friday, March 30^th, Fox News Network talk show host Bill O'Reilly has pounded Virginia Beach mayor, Meyera Oberndorf for her city's failure to properly act on the illegal immigrant's ability to drive the roads of Virginia. He even went so far as to call Virginia Beach a "sanctuary city," referring to the fact that Ramos's illegal alien status had not been reported to the proper authorities in spite of his many criminal convictions.

Oberndorf blasted back saying that neither she nor "any member of the council has ever adopted any legislation to make this a sanctuary city. But what we have done is we, years ago, set up a Human Rights Commission, so that all people will be given the opportunity to be heard, to be responded to, as we would any citizen."

In additional to Oberndorf, O'Reilly called judge Colon Whitehurst a villain for not sentencing the convicted immigrant to jail the second time around. He claimed to be appalled by the fact that the judge merely put the criminal back on the street which, of course, eventually led to the death of the two teenage girls. He also blasted Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine for "not caring much about policing illegal aliens." He noted that he plans to continue his tirade on this issue until justice is received on behalf of the two murdered girls.

Whether or not the issue is simply one of drunk driving, one of illegal immigration, or a combination thereof, nothing changes the fact that two young, bright and promising lives were snuffed out in an instant. Two girls, well loved by both family and friends, will not go on to fulfill lifelong dreams. It is quite possible - - no actually more probable - - that we are all lessened by their passing. No one knows what contributions they might have gone on to make on behalf of all of humanity. We will never know, because of a senseless, preventable act. This may be an instance in which Bill O'Reilly finally got it right!