A Haitian illegal immigrant released to the United States during the Biden administration allegedly attacked two young brothers with an SUV, killing one of them hours before his ninth birthday party, before fleeing the scene earlier this month.
According to the Indianapolis Star, 31-year-old Franck Bazil was arrested by authorities on October 4 as he came out of a car wash in Lawrence, Indiana. He is charged with leaving the scene of an accident causing death or catastrophic injury and leaving the scene of an accident causing moderate or serious bodily injury.
A spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told The Daily Telegraph that Basil illegally crossed the border on January 7, 2024 and was subsequently released back home.
According to local news outlet WTHR, police responded to the crash in Indianapolis around 1:30 p.m. on October 4 after receiving a report of a child lying in the street. Police found two brothers, ages 6 and 9, who had been hit by a black Ford SUV, but the vehicle was no longer at the scene.
The 9-year-old boy, Roland Jerome “RJ” McLain III, died after being taken to a nearby hospital, WTHR reported. The accident happened just hours before his ninth birthday party.
Basile allegedly told police he hit something as he was leaving the apartment complex, stopped briefly when a bystander told him he hit a child, and then ran away in fear, the Indianapolis Star reported.
Basil said he then drove around Indianapolis and called relatives for advice, the outlet reported. His family told him to turn himself in at the police station.
LaQuisha Moore, the boys’ grandmother, said she believed “RJ tried to jump in” and “witnesses said he was trying to save his brother.”
According to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Basil received his Social Security card on February 29, 2024, and his Indiana driver’s license on November 8, 2025.
The Sheriff’s Office said Brazil was incorrectly listed as a U.S. citizen in his jail profile because he had a Social Security card and driver’s license. The office said it later corrected the error.
ICE held a detainee at the Marion County Jail the day of the arrest, asking local authorities to transfer him to federal immigration detention if they did not release him.
“The safest way to catch criminal illegal aliens and remove them from our streets is to place arrest detainers. Seven of the ten safest cities in America partner with ICE,” the spokesperson said.
“Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Mullin, our message is clear: criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in our country,” the spokesperson added.