Joshua Orta, the passenger in the car when Texas driver Ruben Ray Martinez was fatally shot by a federal immigration agent in March 2025, has died in a car crash in San Antonio, lawyers for Martinez’s family said.
Orta, 25, was killed on Saturday when he drove into a curved highway exit at high speed, lost control and hit a utility pole. Passengers escaped as the vehicle caught fire but could not pull him out. Orta had given a statement disputing the government’s account of Martinez’s death, saying the car was barely moving and Martinez did not hit an officer.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) alleged that Martinez intentionally ran over a special agent, prompting another agent to fire defensive shots. Orta’s draft affidavit said an agent fired into the driver’s side window from about 2ft away without warning. The DHS said on Monday: “We stand by our original statement.”
Lawyers for Martinez’s family said Orta’s death is “an awful tragedy” and that the world has lost a critical eyewitness. The Texas Rangers are investigating the shooting but did not confirm if they interviewed Orta before his death.
