The passenger in the car when Texas driver Ruben Ray Martinez was fatally shot in March 2025 by a federal immigration agent gave a lengthy statement to lawyers for the slain man’s family disputing the government’s version of events.
That witness died on Saturday in a fiery car crash in San Antonio, a lawyer for Martinez’s family said.
Joshua Orta was riding with Martinez on a spring break trip when they came upon a group of local police and federal agents directing traffic around an accident at a busy intersection. In a statement issued on Friday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) alleged that Martinez “intentionally ran over a Homeland Security Investigation special agent”, thereby causing another agent to fire “defensive shots to protect himself, his fellow agents, and the general public”.
The Associated Press and other media outlets only recently reported on details of Martinez’s death, which would mark at least six deadly shootings by federal officers since a coast-to-coast immigration crackdown began during Donald Trump’s second presidency. The DHS made no public disclosure for 11 months that one of its agents pulled the trigger.
According to the draft affidavit prepared following interviews in September, Orta reportedly said that Martinez did not hit an officer with his vehicle, that their car was “just crawling as we were trying to turn around” and that a federal agent fired into the driver’s side window from about 2ft away without “giving any warning, commands, or opportunity to comply”.
On Saturday, San Antonio police said a 25-year-old man was killed when he drove into a curved highway exit at a high rate of speed before losing control and slamming into a utility pole. Passengers were able to escape as the vehicle caught fire, but they were unable to pull out the driver.
Lawyers for Rachel Reyes, Martinez’s mother, said Orta was the man who was killed in the car accident. The draft affidavit indicated Martinez’s family was preparing to file a wrongful death lawsuit in the earlier shooting.
“First and foremost, Joshua’s death is an awful tragedy for his family and friends,” said Alex Stamm, one of the lawyers representing the family. “In terms of Ruben’s death, the world has also now lost a critical eyewitness.”
The DHS on Monday said: “We stand by our original statement.”
The Texas Rangers have confirmed that they are investigating Martinez’s shooting. The agency did not respond to questions on Monday about whether they had interviewed Orta before his death.
Martinez’s shooting had at least some similarities to the one on 7 January which killed Renee Good. Good, a 37-year-old mother in Minneapolis, was killed in the driver’s seat of her SUV by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.
Trump administration officials initially attempted to paint Good as a “domestic terrorist” who tried to ram officers with her vehicle before multiple videos emerged of her killing that cast doubt on the government’s narrative. The videos showed Good trying to drive away from the agent that fatally shot her, Jonathan Ross.
Law enforcement officers are typically trained not to step in front of vehicles due to the danger they might be struck.
Neither Good nor Martinez had any criminal record.
Stamm, the family’s lawyer, said Orta’s account confirmed Martinez’s car was barely moving before the Homeland Security Investigations officer opened fire.
“He also told us unequivocally that Ruben did not hit anyone,” Stamm said. “We believe Joshua’s account, and, as we have seen recently in Minneapolis, Chicago and elsewhere, it is critical that the public be shown every piece of evidence in the government’s possession, and that any witness come forward.”