Ex-FBI fugitive: Andrea Dorothy Chan Reyes claimed she ‘would rather die’ than surrender in Adelaide before arrest, authorities allege

An American businesswoman captured by the FBI in Adelaide claimed she would “rather die” than surrender over a fatal Californian hit-run as her mother sent her money after she fled, authorities allege.

Fugitive Andrea Chan Reyes pictured with her partner Paul Blai. She is wanted by the FBI over the alleged fatal hit-run crash of Agustin Rodriguez Jr in Los Angeles. Picture: supplied

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A US businesswoman captured in Adelaide by the FBI claimed she would “rather die” than surrender over a Californian hit-run death, authorities allege.

Andrea Dorothy Chan Reyes, 33, is accused of fleeing suburban Los Angeles more than two years ago after allegedly mowing down father of four Agustin Rodriguez Jr, 46.

Court documents assert her arrest at North Adelaide in April 2018 came days after she threatened self-harm if arrested.

Just weeks before Australian Federal Police agents swooped, her mother admitted transferring thousands of dollars despite her daughter being a most wanted fugitive, the documents show.

Chan Reyes, pictured, a Filipino-born accountant who claims to be a fraud security expert, is fighting US Government attempts to extradite her over the January 30, 2017, vehicular manslaughter.

Fugitive Andrea Chan Reyes pictured with her partner Paul Blair. Picture: supplied

Cyclist Agustin Rodriguez Jr died in a hit-run in January 2017. The alleged driver Andrea Dorothy Chan Reyes, who is facing extradition accused of fleeing Los Angeles after the crash. Picture: Supplied by family

An FBI affidavit, prepared in opposition to bail, shows Chan Reyes’ LA-based lawyer, Paul Young, told the FBI’s LA Field Office on March 29 that she would “not surrender”.

“Furthermore, Mr Young informed me that she stated in substance that she would rather die than be in law enforcement custody and would self-harm if she was approached to be arrested,” FBI Special Agent Erik Arbuthnot wrote.

“This conversation prompted me to request that Australian authorities attempt to locate Ms Chan Reyes and conduct a wellness check.

“(She) was located and arrested in Adelaide following information provided by United States authorities about a reservation made through Airbnb.”

Separate documents lodged with the court state the US Department of Homeland stopped Chan Reyes’ Las Vegas-based mother as she returned from Asia on March 21.

Chan Reyes’s mother, who had just had heart surgery, admitted to federal agents that she had been messaging and speaking to her daughter by phone and had transferred $US4000 the previous month.

Chan Reyes is due to face Adelaide Magistrates Court today, when Magistrate David McLeod will decide whether she is eligible for extradition.

The federal Attorney-General will then consider whether to authorise her extradition. The Sunday Mail revealed how four AFP officers were cleared of any wrongdoing over a critical incident during her arrest.

The crash site in Los Angeles where cyclist Agustin Rodriguez Jr died in January 2017. Picture: KABC

Chan Reyes, who was living with her new SA-born fiance, Paul Blair, 38 while job-hunting, was rushed to the Royal Adelaide Hospital with serious injuries and had emergency surgery.

During a bail application last week, prosecutors alleged Chan Reyes — a high-risk prisoner with multiple aliases — was manipulating the system inside Adelaide Women’s Prison.

She had frequently travelled between Brisbane and Hong Kong and received an FBI clearance to work and live in Australia.

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