EAGLE PASS, Texas — A Texas Army National Guard soldier died in a two-vehicle crash near the border city of Eagle Pass on Tuesday. Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) officials identified the soldier as 44-year-old Jeremy Vance Randolph of Dallas, Texas. The accident occurred at 1 p.m. on U.S. Highway 277, about 24 miles north of Eagle Pass.
Randolph was driving a Ford passenger van at the time of the crash. Randolph was killed when the driver of a 2019 Ford F-150 lost control of his vehicle and swerved into oncoming traffic after his truck suffered a blown-out front left tire. The red Ford 150 ultimately struck the white Ford passenger van driven by Randolph.
Texas DPS Highway Patrol troopers responded to the crash and are investigating. Randolph was carried to the Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center (FDRMC) by life flight ambulance, where he was later declared deceased. The unidentified driver and two passengers in the red F-15o truck were transported to FDRMC by ground ambulance. No information concerning their condition at the medical center has been released.
Randolph was on assignment to the border region as part of Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star. The Eagle Pass deployment includes soldiers stationed at a new facility just south of the border city that will accommodate 1,800 soldiers. The facility can accommodate a surge force of an additional 500 soldiers with modifications if needed.
Since the launch of Operation Lone Star, the multi-agency effort has led to more than 512,300 illegal immigrant apprehensions and more than 43,400 criminal arrests, with more than 38,200 felony charges. In the fight against the fentanyl crisis, Texas law enforcement has seized over 487 million lethal doses of fentanyl, enough to kill every man, woman, and child in the United States and Mexico combined during this border mission.
As of April, Texas has also transported:
- Over 12,500 migrants to Washington, D.C. since April 2022
- Over 45,000 migrants to New York City since August 2022
- Over 36,500 migrants to Chicago since August 2022
- Over 3,400 migrants to Philadelphia since November 2022
- Over 19,000 migrants to Denver since May 2023
- Over 1,500 migrants to Los Angeles since June 2023
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X @RandyClarkBBTX.