Smuggler Sentenced in San Angelo for Crash that Killed Ozona Girl, Grandmother

SAN ANGELO, TX — A federal judge on Friday sentenced Rassian Nateray Comer to life in prison for a March 2023 human-smuggling crash that killed 7-year-old Emilia Brooke Tambunga, her grandmother Maria “Coke” Socorro Alvarez Tambunga, and two Mexican nationals riding in Comer’s truck. 

U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix imposed the sentence at 1 p.m. inside the O.C. Fisher Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse. On June 18, Comer pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death, 11 counts of transportation of an illegal alien resulting in death, and one count of possession of a stolen firearm.

Hendrix sentenced him to life on Counts 1 through 12, with five years of supervised release, and to 120 months on Count 13, with three years of supervised release. The prison terms run concurrently. Comer was also ordered to pay a $1,300 special assessment. The Bureau of Prisons will decide where he is housed. Hendrix said a placement near Louisiana would be preferable. 

Comer, of Louisiana, was 21 at the time of the crash. 

According to court records cited by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he was transporting 11 people who had entered the country illegally on March 13, 2023, when he fled a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper at speeds exceeding 100 mph. During the chase, he drove eastbound in the westbound lanes of Interstate 10, then ran a red light in Ozona and struck a red pickup carrying Maria Tambunga, 71, and Emilia, a second-grader. Both died at the scene. Two of the people in Comer’s 2021 silver Ram 1500, identified as R.S. and I.C.G., also died. The other nine suffered serious injuries. Hendrix said Friday that an officer was also hurt. 

Comer admitted this was his fourth smuggling trip for an organization run by a relative. He coordinated pickup locations over WhatsApp and that day collected 11 migrants in Sheffield, Texas, he said. He admitted he knew they were in the country unlawfully and that he moved them to further that unlawful presence. 

Prosecutors said he livestreamed part of the chase on Facebook Live. The video showed police lights in his rearview mirror and a speedometer reading 105 mph, with voices in Spanish in the background. A Springfield XD9 9mm handgun was found under the brake pedal. Comer acknowledged possessing it and said he believed it was stolen.

“This case lays bare a heartbreaking human tragedy — a grandmother, a 7-year-old child, and two Mexican nationals were all killed because of Mr. Comer’s criminal and depraved actions,” U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould said. “These were innocent lives, stolen in an instant by an alien smuggler whose criminal actions showed complete disregard for everyone on the road. No sentence can restore what was lost, but it does send a clear message: when criminals gamble with human lives, we will respond with the full weight of the federal government to ensure victims receive justice.”

Homeland Security Investigations Dallas acting Deputy Special Agent in Charge Judy Pardo said Comer’s “reckless actions turned a human-smuggling run into an unimaginable tragedy” and that he showed “a callous disregard for the lives of the people he transported, the law enforcement officers pursuing him, and the innocent family sharing the road that night.”

In court, defense counsel argued that a difficult childhood helped put Comer on that path. Hendrix rejected that as an explanation. He said poor parenting is not uncommon and that other people who grew up in hard circumstances do not “do things like this for a few thousand dollars.” Comer’s only prior conviction, the judge said, was unlawful carrying of a weapon, for which he served 45 days. 

Hendrix called the decision to flee “inconceivable,” saying Comer appeared unfazed and livestreamed the chase. “They just wanted ice cream,” he said of the Tambungas, adding that the family now lives with “immense torment” and that Comer showed a “complete disregard for life.” He told Comer he had “50 miles to change your mind” and that “no punishment is just for the family.” The judge said he credited Comer for taking accountability but added that Comer “made a lot of terrible decisions.”

Asked whether he wanted to speak, Comer said he did. He told the family that saying sorry does not undo what he did, that his heart went out to them, and that he was sorry. He also apologized to the court for having to hear the case. 

“If I could change what I did, I would,” he said. “My heart goes out to all of you.”

Counsel later said Comer had to have known that unrestrained passengers and a high-speed flight created a real chance someone would die, and recalled the aftermath shown in video exhibits. 

Elisa Tambunga, Emilia’s mother, spoke first. She described the day her daughter was born as the best day of her life and the phone call after the crash as the worst — “it was like a movie.” Happy days are rare now, she said. “The silence is deafening. There is no more laughing, no more giggling.” She said her health has declined and that depression followed the loss. “You took away not just our peace, but our community’s peace.” Addressing Comer about facing God, she said, “I hope he shows you no mercy.”

Gin Jespersen, Elisa’s older sister, spoke next. “I wanted you dead,” she said. “I’ve been waiting for 3 years to tell you how much damage you have done.” She said she wrote a dark poem, printed in yellow to match his inmate uniform, and told the court Comer had livestreamed the chase while listening to rap music and singing lyrics. “You had arrogance in your video; that’s why it makes it so hard to accept your apology.” 

She said she hoped the poem and the family’s words would stay with him. “I will make sure you remember me forever. You will never be free of me.”

In a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the family thanked Raybould, West Texas Branch Chief Jeffrey R. Haag, and investigators, and said the sentence does not bring closure. 

“Today is not about closure — because a loss of this magnitude does not simply close,” they wrote. “Nothing can undo what this animal did, but it does affirm something important: their lives mattered, their deaths mattered, and what was done to them could not simply go unanswered.”

The statement was signed by Emilio Tambunga, Elisa Tambunga, and Gin and Tim Jespersen. 

Homeland Security Investigations led the investigation with the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Crockett County Sheriff’s Office, the Texas Border Prosecution Unit, and the 112th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. Haag prosecuted the case. 

You can find a full federal release HERE.