5 undocumented migrants killed in Sunday police chase
About 50 miles from the Mexico border, 5 undocumented migrants were killed on Sunday as they were chased by border patrol. The crash took place near a Texas town called Big Wells, which is 100 miles from San Antonio.
“Border patrol was pursuing a vehicle, a Chevrolet Suburban, and one of my deputies assisted and took over the pursuit just west of Big Wells,” County Sheriff Marion Boyd told reporters at the scene, according to ABC News. “The vehicle was traveling around 100 miles per hour and from what we could tell the vehicle ran off the road, caught gravel, then tried to recorrect and that caused the vehicle to turn over several times.”
A total of 14 people were inside the SUV, and some were ejected onto the highway. As the car crashed, four people died and several were flown to a San Antonio hospital by helicopter. The 5th migrant died upon arriving.
The deputy took the SUV’s driver into custody, claiming that he “was a human smuggler.”
“The driver of this vehicle, we have handled before. We dealt with him last week,” Boyd said.
The vehicle was with two other vehicles that were stopped and searched at traffic stops by a border patrol agent. The third vehicle did not stop, according to the U.S. border patrol statement.
“The driver did not stop and the attempt to stop the vehicle was taken over by a Dimmit County Sheriff’s Office deputy. The vehicle rolled over a short distance later on Highway 85 near Big Wells, resulting in multiple injuries and fatalities,” the statement reads.
Arrests have grown tremendously at the border. The Trump administration has sparked nationwide outrage as it continues to enforce its “zero-tolerance” policy, separating migrant children from their detained parents.