A human smuggler led Texas Department of Public Safety troopers on a high-speed pursuit and crashed after losing control in a curving turn. The vehicle rolled upside-down in the river and resulted in the death of one migrant.
DPS spokesman Lt. Christopher Olivarez tweeted a video showing a trooper in Edwards County, Texas, engaging in a high-speed pursuit with a suspected human smuggling vehicle.
The driver, identified only as a resident of Austin, Texas, failed to stop when the trooper first engaged the suspected smuggling operation. During the pursuit, which lasted for several miles, the driver lost control when entering a curve leading to a river crossing.
The trooper’s dash cam video shows the vehicle rolling over in a shower of sparks. As the trooper rounds the curve, the vehicle is seen upside down in the river.
The trooper, working the border region under Operation Lone Star, and what appears to be a Border Patrol agent approached the crash to render aid. After being unable to open the door of the vehicle, the trooper jumps into the water and moves to the opposite side to attempt to extricate the driver and five migrants trapped inside.
One person is seen emerging from the rear of the upside-down vehicle. He moves to the side of the vehicle to help the Border Patrol agent attempt to open the door.
The video stops before the others are removed from the crash.
Olivarez reports one migrant, identified only as a 28-year-old Guatemalan national, died in the crash. Four other migrants were injured.
Police arrested the Austin-resident driver who now faces charges related to human smuggling causing death or bodily injury. Olivarez also reported the driver to be in possession of methamphetamine.
Edwards County surrounds Rocksprings, Texas, and is one county inland from the Texas-Mexico border. The county judge and commissioners recently voted a resolution calling on the Texas Legislature to put the matter of secession on the ballot in next year’s general election, Breitbart Texas reported. The county government listed the Biden Administration’s failure to enforce immigration and border security laws as one of the reasons for the resolution.
Elsewhere in Texas, another human smuggler driving at high speeds lost control of his vehicle in a curve in Brooks County, Texas. The vehicle rolled over, crashing through a gas pipeline, Breitbart Texas reported. The crash resulted in the deaths of two migrants in injuries to more than a dozen others.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point?Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.