Driver Suspected of People Smuggling Causes Car Crash in Texas, Killing 8

Crime scene tape is seen in Santa Fe, Texas, on May 18, 2018. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

Eight people have been killed in a two car collision after the driver of a car suspected of carrying smuggled immigrants fled authorities and later collided with an oncoming vehicle on a south Texas highway.

Christopher Olivarez, a spokesman with the Texas Department of Public Safety (TDPS), said in a Nov. 9 post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the investigation is still ongoing and further details will be shared when they become available.

The driver of the 2009 Honda Civic was trying to outrun deputies from the Zavala County Sheriff’s Office. The driver had five passengers in the car. Troopers have confirmed several of the passengers in the Honda Civic were from Honduras.

While passing an 18-wheeler in a no-passing zone, the Honda Civic driver collided with a Chevy SUV, causing the vehicle to burst into flames, killing the driver and passenger from Georgia. As a result of the crash, everyone in the Honda Civic was also killed.

Mr. Olivarez has said that the identities of all the deceased will be released once the next of kin are notified. In a follow-up post, he revealed that Jose Lerma, 67, and Isabel Lerma, 65, of Dalton, Georgia, Whitfield County, had been positively identified as the occupants of the Chevy SUV.

It was unclear how fast the vehicles were going, but photos shown by law enforcement show both cars were severely damaged, possibly indicating high speeds. A similar crash killed 13 in 2021 during a collision near California.

New Rules for Border Patrol Agents in Vehicle Chases

According to data from the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, there have been at least 106 deaths in Border Patrol vehicle pursuits from January 2010 to July this year.

United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced a revised vehicle pursuit policy earlier this year to address concerns about the growing number of deaths over the past decade.

Under the new rules, which came into effect in May, agents must determine that vehicular pursuits are “necessary and objectively reasonable.” They can now terminate a pursuit at any time without fear of questioning from superiors.

A critical change in the revised policy calls on agents to consider the actual need to apprehend someone, along with the potential risk to the public, law enforcement, and the occupants of the subject vehicle.

Officers and agents are also prohibited from starting or continuing pursuit of an overloaded vehicle exceeding the speed limit unless there is probable cause that a felony involving the use, or threatened use, of physical force or violence that poses an imminent threat, has been or is about to be committed.

Chris Magnus appears before a Senate Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Oct. 19, 2021. Rod Lamkey/Pool via CNP

Troy Miller, who became acting CBP commissioner in late 2022 after former chief Chris Magnus resigned, said at the time vehicular pursuits “pose inherent risks to members of the public, officers, and agents.”

He said the new policy “acknowledges these risks and shifts our agency’s overall approach to a risk-based model when it comes to pursuits.