Two Dead After Alleged Human Smuggler Leads Texas Police on Chase near Border

Two people died in a crash as an alleged human smuggler led law enforcement officials on a high-speed pursuit. The driver, a U.S. citizen, reportedly ran a stop sign and broadsided a vehicle not involved in the pursuit.

A gray Ford Explorer reportedly loaded with six migrants failed to yield to Border Patrol agents and led agents and the Texas Department of Public Safety in a pursuit, according to a report from KRGV.com.

During the pursuit, the driver, later identified by MyRGV.com as 18-year-old Esteban Cantu, ran a stop sign and broadsided a vehicle traveling on another road, Border Patrol union officials reported.

MyRGV.com reports the crash left two people dead and multiple others injured. Mission police told the local news outlet that multiple people were transported to a hospital.

Cantu is under arrest and police say he is charged with evading arrest with a motor vehicle, a felony, and human smuggling.

Elsewhere in the Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol Sector, a migrant died after the driver of a gray F-150 pickup truck fled from Border Patrol agents in Starr County, Texas, according to a statement issued by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Agents observed two vehicles engaged in suspicious behavior near Encino, Texas. The small community is a well-known human smuggling area where drivers drop off migrants to march around the Falfurrias Border Patrol checkpoint on U.S. Highway 281. Agents engaged the driver of the Ford truck who fled the scene and led agents in pursuit, officials stated.

The agents contacted Texas DPS troopers who joined in the pursuit. The trooper, traveling with two Border Patrol agents, deployed a vehicle immobilization device to stop the fleeing driver.

The driver swerved to avoid the device and lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle rolled after striking solar panels, ejecting occupants of the vehicle. He then fled from the scene but was later apprehended by police.

Agents found a migrant who had been ejected from the vehicle. An agent trained as an Emergency Medical Technician attempted to revive the migrant. Inclement weather kept an air ambulance from responding to the scene and the migrant succumbed to his injuries.

Border Patrol officials report the driver was transported to the Starr County jail and charged with evading arrest resulting in death.

Officials identified the decedent as a male Mexican national.

Texas Department of Public Safety and CBP officials continue to investigate the circumstances of the crash.