Encino, Texas (AP) — An overloaded van carrying about 25 migrants crashed on a remote highway in southern Texas on Wednesday, killing at least 11 people, including drivers, and injuring more than 12 Officials said.
The crash occurred on Wednesday after 4 pm at US281 in Encino, Texas, about 50 miles (80 km) north of McAllen. Brooks County Sheriff Urbino Martinez says the van, designed to carry 15 passengers, was the fastest and top heavy when the driver fell when he lost control on a curve. The van wasn’t being tracked, Martinez said.
Martinez said he believed that all passengers were immigrants. Sgt. Texas Public Safety Agency Nathan Brandon has killed 11 people and injured more than 12 others.
The identities of the victims were not immediately available, and there was no information about the van, such as where it was registered or who owned it.
Encino is a community of approximately 140 inhabitants located approximately 2 miles (3.22 km) south of the Falfurias Border Guard checkpoint.
Rapid increase in immigrants illegally crossing borders It has led to an increase in the number of collisions, including vehicles jammed with immigrants who pay large sums to be smuggled into the country. Dallas Morning News reported The hiring of young drivers for smuggling, combined with excessive speed and reckless driving by those young men, led to horrific accidents.
Victor M. Manjares Jr., director of the University of Texas at El Paso’s Center for Law and Human Behavior, told the newspaper that criminal gangs are recruiting drivers from Austin, Dallas, and Houston. Others come from the El Paso region, while others come from parts of Latin America full of police corruption.
“They say,’If you get caught, it’s going to be bad for you,'” he said.
According to Manjares, they will be selected from a group of migrants trying to cross borders safely to reduce smuggling fees. They are told to follow the reconnaissance vehicle.
“A few hours of work isn’t bad,” says Manjares.
One of the most deadly crashes I came on March 3rdWhen 13 people died when a semi-trailer truck collided with a sports utility vehicle containing 25 immigrants.
March 17Eight migrants were killed when a pickup truck carrying them collided with another truck while being tracked by police.Drivers face life imprisonment after pleading guilty to multiple federal crimes May 24.. No judgment date has been set.