An illegal alien from El Salvador was sentenced to only one year in prison after he killed a University of South Carolina student in a hit-and-run crash.
On April 2, Rosali Fernandez-Cruz, 24, struck 21-year-old Nathaniel Baker, who was riding a motorcycle. Fernandez-Cruz reportedly did not yield, struck Baker and took off.
Baker’s family reportedly forgave Fernandez-Cruz and were consulted about the light sentence, Robert Kittle, spokesperson for the state attorney general’s office told Fox News.
A judge imposed a lenient sentence of only one year in prison.
The family did not want the case to be “politicized” or “publicized,” according to Kittle.
Fernandez-Cruz will be deported to El Salvador after he serves his sentence.
Fox News reported:
An illegal immigrant who pleaded guilty to killing a South Carolina college student in a hit-and-run will be released next year after completing his one-year sentence.
Rosali Fernandez-Cruz was admitted to the state Department of Corrections on Aug. 14, 2025, according to South Carolina Department of Corrections records.
His projected release date is March 2, 2026. Fernandez-Cruz pleaded guilty to hit-and-run resulting in death — the most serious charge against him — according to Robert Kittle, communications director for the state attorney general’s office, who spoke with Fox News Digital.
There was no plea agreement, and prosecutors informed the judge of other traffic-related charges against Fernandez-Cruz, Kittle said.
“The judge decided the sentence, which was one year,” he said.
Fernandez-Cruz, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, received the light sentence for the April 2 death of Nathaniel Baker, 21, in Columbia. Baker was a junior at the University of South Carolina and a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity.
SOFT SENTENCE: An illegal alien from El Salvador will serve only one year in jail after killing University of South Carolina student Nate Baker, 21, in a hit-and-run crash. pic.twitter.com/MfAjfyq4UL
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 8, 2025