Mother in hearing clip describes fatal crash she attributes to an undocumented driver

Jen Heiling, in a committee hearing clip aired on the Illinois Channel program, described the July 20, 2025 crash that killed her son, Brady Heiling, and his fiancée, Hallie Helgason. "My son, Brady Heiling, and his girlfriend, Hallie Helgason, were tragically killed while celebrating their 3 year anniversary at a concert in Wisconsin," she said on the record in the clip.

Heiling told the committee the other driver was intoxicated, had prior offenses, had failed to install an interlock device and was driving the wrong way; she attributed the collision to an "illegal immigrant" operating the vehicle. The program's hosts aired the clip as part of a segment about sanctuary policies and the human toll of immigration and enforcement decisions.

The broadcast did not provide official court or police records in the segment; it presented Heiling's testimony as recorded at the committee hearing. Hosts described the clip as emotionally resonant and said it had drawn large online view counts when posted. The program offered no additional documentary corroboration in the segment itself.