Eight people were killed March 15 when a pickup truck carrying illegal immigrants collided with a truck on a highway while fleeing a police chase. (Texas Department of Public Safety)
Eight people were killed when a pickup truck carrying illegal immigrants collided with a truck on a highway while fleeing a police chase, authorities said.
The pickup truck was initially stopped by police for a traffic violation near the Texas border city of Del Rio, but the driver of the vehicle refused to stop, prompting the chase.
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) said its soldiers were in pursuit of a red Dodge pickup truck on Highway 277 Monday afternoon (March 15) when the Dodge pickup collided with a white Ford F-150 about 30 miles north of the city of Del Rio.
The driver in the Ford F-150, along with a child, and a passenger in the Dodge pickup were taken to the hospital, the department said in a statement Tuesday. The eight people who died and the surviving passenger in the Dodge pickup were all illegal immigrants.
Local police officials said the dead were all Mexican citizens, seven men and one woman, all between the ages of 18 and 20, according to the Associated Press.
DPS officials said the driver of the Dodge pickup, 24-year-old Sebastian Tovar, tried to flee after the crash, but was quickly caught and placed in federal custody.
The tragic highway crash that killed 13 people in Imperial County, California, also happened just a short Time ago.
The incident occurred on March 2, when an SUV full of illegal immigrants crashed on Interstate 115 at Holtville shortly after entering California, killing 13 people and seriously injuring nine others. The vehicle in question was an eight-passenger 1997 Ford Expedition, but a total of 25 people were crammed into the vehicle. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) said the youngest person injured was a 15-year-old girl (who was seriously injured) and the oldest was 46 years old.
Both the SUV and another Chevrolet Suburban reportedly entered the U.S. illegally through a breach in the border wall. The Chevrolet, carrying 19 people, entered the U.S. and caught fire on the interstate. Everyone in the vehicle fled the vehicle and later hid in the bushes before being found and detained by Border Patrol.
In a statement Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas acknowledged that the recent surge in the number of children crossing the Mexican border alone has created a challenge. He added that Border Patrol has seen a steady increase in border crossers since last April.
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