DOUGLAS, Ariz. –– An Arizona woman who has become the face of border-area problems since her husband’s murder in March was hospitalized with serious injuries in Tucson Sept. 25 after she and another woman were hit by a car as they crossed the street after Mass at St. Luke Church in Douglas.
Sue Krentz, 58, was crossing the street with a friend, 80-year-old Shirley Gregory, when they were struck by a car driven by Ramon Parra Saucedo, according to the Cochise County Sheriff’s department. He was charged with driving under the influence, two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of endangerment.
Krentz and Gregory were taken by helicopter to a Tucson hospital. Friends told Arizona news media that Krentz had several broken bones, including her pelvis, and had surgery. Information was not available about Gregory’s condition.
The accident occurred almost exactly six months after Krentz’s husband, Rob, was killed on their ranch outside of Douglas by an unknown gunman. Sheriff’s investigators had said they were seeking a man thought to be a lookout for drug traffickers in connection with the case.
Krentz told Catholic News Service in a July interview that she had been turning to her Catholic faith, particularly to Mary, in an effort to get through the daily struggles after her husband’s death.
The March 27 murder became the tipping point for frustration about illegal immigration in the region of Arizona near the U.S.-Mexico border, precipitating the passage of S.B.1070, a law requiring state and local law agencies to enforce federal immigration laws.
