The man who was riding in the car with Ruben Ray Martinez when he was shot and killed by a federal agent last March and planned to challenge ICE's account of the incident has died in a car crash.
Joshua Orta was a passenger when Martinez, 23, was fatally shot in South Padre Island, Texas, on March 15, 2025, according to newly-released documents viewed by the Daily Mail and first reported by Newsweek.
DHS claimed Martinez failed to comply with multiple requests to stop and exit the vehicle and accelerated toward officers, striking an HSI agent before another one fatally shot him.
Orta was set to challenge law enforcement's version of the case. He died, however, in an unrelated car crash on a San Antonio highway this past Saturday.
While driving at 1am Saturday at a high speed, he lost control and struck a pole, with the vehicle catching on fire and killing him before his stepsister and two other passengers could pull him out, police said.
He had given a witness statement but was yet to sign it before he could cooperate with an investigation, attorneys for the Martinez family said.
Orta contradicted law enforcement, saying he and Martinez drove to South Padre Island for Martinez's 23rd birthday.
The man riding in the car with Ruben Ray Martinez (pictured) when he was shot and killed by a federal agent last March and planned to challenge ICE's account of the incident has died in a car crash
DHS claimed Martinez failed to comply with multiple requests to stop and exit the vehicle and accelerated toward officers, striking an HSI agent before another one fatally shot him
On Martinez's birthday, they arrived at the scene of a car crash and Martinez became worried because he had an open alcohol container in the vehicle, Orta alleged.
He then claimed that shortly after, an officer told them to turn around but there was no obvious place to move because traffic was so far backed up. Orta added that Martinez did not strike an agent.
'As we inched forward in traffic to get turned around, another officer, a state trooper, walked up to our car,' he said, adding that he then 'slapped the hood' of the vehicle.
Another officer 'seemed to be trying to get in front of the car' before one yelled at them to stop and took out their firearms, Orta claimed.
That's when, he alleged, Martinez was shot multiple times in the chest without 'any warning, commands or opportunity to comply.'
'I heard Ruben say, "I'm sorry," and then he slumped backward,' Orta said.
Then, he claimed officers put Martinez on the ground, face down and put him in handcuffs.
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Joshua Orta (not pictured) was a passenger who was set to challenge law enforcement's version of the case, claiming that Martinez complied with law enforcement
Rachel Reyes, pictured right, said that her son, Ruben Ray Martinez, pictured left, was a hardworking young man and disagreed with DHS's characterization of his death
'Ruben was unarmed, nonviolent, not fleeing and not resisting at the time he was shot. His killing was unjustified and excessive,' Orta concluded.
Alex Stamm, who represents Martinez's mother Rachel Reyes, called Orta's death a tragedy for both men.
'First and foremost, Joshua's death is an awful tragedy for his family and friends, and the Reyes family is grieving with them,' Stamm said.
'In terms of Ruben's death, the world has also now lost a critical eyewitness.'
He added that he and the family 'believe Joshua's account' and cited the recent shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in suggesting DHS may not be telling the truth.
'It is critical that the public be shown every piece of evidence in the government's possession, and that any witness come forward,' he added.
DHS on Monday continued to back the original account: 'We stand by our original statement.'
The Daily Mail has reached out to attorneys for the Martinez family for comment.
Martinez's death was reported on at the time as an 'officer-involved shooting.' It has now come to light that Martinez was the sole victim, and the officer was a federal agent
Martinez's death follows the killings of two Minnesota residents, which launched a wave of protests across the country demanding that ICE agents scale back operations, with some even calling for the agency to be abolished
Martinez was transported to a hospital in Brownsville and later pronounced dead following the shooting. The incident report redacted his name but identified him as a US citizen.
Local media covered the incident at the time as an 'officer-involved shooting.' Newsweek identified Martinez through the local coverage.
South Padre Island City Manager Randy Smith previously told local news outlets that officers were not the ones who fired their weapons.
DHS confirmed the shooting in a statement, adding the Ford driver 'intentionally ran over a Homeland Security Investigations special agent.'
'Upon witnessing this, another agent fired defensive shots to protect himself, his fellow agents, and the general public,' the statement added.
DHS added that the agent who was allegedly run over sustained a knee injury and was taken to the hospital.
DHS said the Texas Department of Public Safety Ranger Division was investigating the incident. The Daily Mail has reached out to the department for an update.
The department told Newsweek that the investigation is still active and that no other information is currently available.
Martinez's death comes almost a year before two Minnesota residents, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were fatally shot by ICE
The newly released documents suggest that ICE has killed more US citizens than originally believed. The agency has been under tense criticism with protests erupting across the country. Anti-ICE protesters in Austin, Texas are pictured above on January 30
Martinez's mother, Rachel Reyes, confirmed to the New York Times that her son was the victim of the ICE-involved shooting.
She disputed DHS's account of events and characterized her son as a hardworking young man with no history of trouble with the law.
'He was a good kid. He doesn't have a criminal history. He never got in trouble. He was never violent,' Reyes said in a phone interview with the publication.
Martinez's family maintained that he was complying with instructions from law enforcement officials before he was shot.
Reyes told The New York Times that Orta's account of the events matches what investigators had initially told her.
'I was very surprised when I saw what the government document said about my son,' she said.
'That's not what they told me. I was shocked and insulted.'
Reyes added that she didn't 'appreciate' DHS's characterization of her son and said the incident report made the events 'sound different' than what her family was initially told.
Martinez's death was reported on by local news at the time as an 'officer-involved shooting.' Newly released documents have revealed that the incident involved federal agents at a traffic stop
'What they're saying is different from what they told the family, so that's adding insult to injury,' she said.
Stamm has previously said that eyewitness accounts of the shooting were inconsistent with ICE's internal report.
The attorney demanded a 'full and fair investigation' and asked why federal officers were present at the scene of a traffic collision.
Martinez's family said in a statement to the Times: 'Since Ruben's death a year ago, all we have wanted is justice for him, and we have struggled with the silence surrounding his killing.
'Now, the country is in crisis and, terribly, heartbreakingly, other families are enduring what we have.'
Federal officials have not publicly released any information on video evidence of the shooting.
US Representative Joaquin Castro, who represents Martinez's home city of San Antonio, has called for an investigation into the fatal shooting.
Castro called the killing an 'organized cover-up' in a virtual news conference on Friday, as reported by Texas Public Radio.
The newly-revealed incident report underscores months of heightened tensions between local officials and federal agents as DHS and ICE carry out immigration enforcement raids across the country.
Minnesota mom-of-three, Renee Good, 37, was killed by an ICE agent named Jonathan Ross on January 7 in an eerily similar incident.
She was in her vehicle while federal agents conducted immigration enforcement operations.
As she drove away in her SUV, the agent opened fire, and she died from a gunshot injury to the head.
DHS defended officers in the incident and even branded Good a 'domestic terrorist,' however, video footage of the shooting cast doubt on the Trump administration's characterization of events.
Geoffrey Alpert, a police use-of-force expert, told the Associated Press that both instances were unusual because federal officers are trained not to stand in front of a moving vehicle.
'You don't stand in front of the car, you don't put yourself in harm's way,' he explained.
ICU nurse Alex Pretti, also 37, was killed on January 24 after a tense exchange with federal officers on the street.
Witnesses and video footage show Pretti attempting to protect others from the agents before the violent encounter occurred.
Similarly, DHS has defended the agents in the shooting, arguing that they were acting in self-defense because Pretti was carrying a gun.
Martinez's mother accused the federal agents in her son's case of not giving him a chance, adding that their use of force was 'excessive.'
'They could have done anything else besides that. It's like they shoot first and ask questions later,' she added.
Martinez's death means at least six individuals have been killed by ICE since Trump assumed office last year, according to AP.
