Overview

• A July 20 wrong-way collision on Interstate 39 near DeForest killed Minnesota teens Hallie Helgeson and Brady Heiling after their SUV was struck head-on by Martinez-Avila’s vehicle.
• Martinez-Avila, a 30-year-old Honduran national with a revoked license, is charged in Dane County with homicide by vehicle, operating while intoxicated causing death and related felonies.
• She remains held on $250,000 bail per count, prohibited from alcohol, driving or contacting the victims’ families, and is due back in circuit court on August 28.
• DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin publicly condemned Dane County’s sanctuary policy for declining to honor ICE detainers, calling it a threat to community safety.
• Investigators noted that Martinez-Avila failed to install a court-ordered ignition interlock device after her 2020 DUI conviction, a compliance lapse under scrutiny in the case.