A truck crash in Texas killed 11 people, all believed to be illegal immigrants. 12 other people riding in the truck along a rural stretch of Texas highway near Edinbrug were also injured, according to Reuters. The Texas pick-up truck was “severely overloaded,” according to Fox News. The overnight truck crash in Texas is the second suspected smuggling accident in the state in the past three months.
The earlier Texas crash involved the deaths of nine illegal aliens when the driver of a minivan fled from U.S. Border Control agents near the Mexican border in Palmview. The truck was carrying a total of 17 illegal immigrants into Texas.
The most recent Texas smuggling-related accident occurred at approximately 2:30 a.m. this morning. The driver apparently lost control of the pick-up truck and crashed into a tree, according to republished reports from the Texas Department of Public Safety. The alleged illegal immigrants injured in the crash were transported to hospitals in San Antonio, Victoria and Corpus Christi.
“This is the most people I’ve seen in any passenger vehicle, and I’ve been an officer for 38 years,” Officer Gerard Bryant told the Associated Press.
Initial reports from the scene indicate the dead are of various ages and include men, women and at least two children. Six of the passengers who died instantly or later at the hospital were trapped inside the “mangled vehicle” when emergency responders arrived on scene, the Associated Press reports. The alleged illegal immigrants were crowded into both the bed and cab of the white 2000 Ford F-250 pickup truck as it traveled on U.S. 59 through Goliad County.
Officer Bryant also stated during the Associated Press interview that “several” of the passengers who were transported to area hospitals had life-threatening injuries.