LOS ANGELES – A Mexican national charged in a San Diego, California, car crash that badly injured a 6-year-old boy was in the country illegally and had been deported at least 15 times, US immigration officials say.

Constantino Banda-Acosta was taken into custody by US Customs and Border Protection agents about a mile from the two-car collision that took place at about 11.30 pm (local time) on Saturday in the San Ysidro neighborhood of San Diego, near the border with Mexico.

Banda-Acosta, 38, has been charged with hit-and-run causing great bodily injury, driving under the influence of alcohol and driving without a license. Local media reported that he pleaded not guilty during a brief initial court appearance on Wednesday.

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement that it has lodged a detainer against Banda-Acosta seeking to take him into custody if and when he is released by local authorities.

“Department of Homeland Security databases indicate Mr. Banda-Acosta has been repatriated to Mexico at least 15 times since 2002, most recently in January 2017,” ICE said in the statement.

Lennox Lake, 6, is pictured at Rady Children’s Hospital, in California, where he was brought after suffering severe injuries in a May 6 car crash. (Photo courtesy: GoFundMe)

A San Diego County public defender who represented Banda-Acosta at the court hearing on Wednesday could not be reached by Reuters for comment. A jail website listed Banda-Acosta as being held in lieu of a US$230,000 bond.

According to the Border Patrol, Banda-Acosta was arrested after agents who came across the crash found him and a passenger in a damaged Chevrolet pick-up truck that matched the description of the vehicle involved.

The agents arrested both men, the Border Patrol said. Banda-Acosta’s passenger, who was not identified, was being processed for removal from the United States, the agency said.

The San Diego Union Tribune newspaper reported that Banda-Acosta was accused of speeding through a stop-sign and striking a Honda accord carrying a family returning home from a trip to Disneyland.

The Border Patrol said that multiple people were injured in the crash. The Union Tribune reported that the 6-year-old boy, who it identified as Lennox Lake, suffered a skull fracture and required surgery.

– Reuters