Eight people died on Wednesday when the driver of a car suspected of carrying smuggled migrants fled police and smashed into an oncoming vehicle on a South Texas highway.
The crash happened around 6.30 a.m. when the driver of a 2009 Honda Civic tried to outrun deputies from the Zavala County Sheriff’s Office.
The State Department of Public Safety said the driver attempted to pass a semi-truck.
The Civic collided with a 2015 Chevrolet Equinox, which caught fire.
Everyone in both vehicles died, according to DPS. That includes the 21-year-old driver of the Civic, from Houston and his five passengers.
Some of the passengers were from Honduras, Department Spokesman, Christopher Olivarez said in a statement.
The two people in the Equinox were from Georgia.
The Police will release the identities of those killed to their families first, Olivarez said.
It was unclear how fast the vehicles were going, but law enforcement provided photos showing both were mangled and most of the Equinox was burned.
Wednesday’s crash near Batesville — about 80 miles (130 kilometres) southwest of San Antonio — is the latest deadly vehicle crash involving migrants.
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This marked the highest death toll after 13 people died in a collision in remote Holtville, California, in March 2021.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas has tallied 106 deaths in Border Patrol vehicle pursuits from January 2010 to June of this year.
Deaths averaged 3.5 yearly through 2019 but spiked in 2020. This led officials to develop a new policy for vehicle pursuits with an eye toward increasing safety.
The policy announced in January stops short of prohibiting chases.
But, according to CBP, it “provides a clear framework for weighing the risks of conducting pursuits. Such risks include the dangers they present to the public, against the law enforcement benefit or need”.
Fatal crashes have also involved local law enforcement agencies in recent years.
In June 2022, four migrants died in a smuggling attempt following a police chase in the South Texas city of Encinal, about 80 miles (130 kilometres) southeast of Wednesday’s crash.
The Zavala County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to a request for comment. (AP News)
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