According to a police official, eight individuals died when a suspected human smuggler crashed with another car on a Texas highway on Wednesday.
A representative for the Texas Department of Public Safety reported on social media that the accused smuggler was trying to avoid arrest by traveling from Houston in a Honda as he was being pursued by the Zavala County Sheriff’s Office when the deadly crash occurred.
NEW: 11/8, @TxDPS is investigating a two-vehicle fatal crash on US 57 near Batesville. The driver in a Honda passenger car from Houston suspected of human smuggling was evading from Zavala COSO when the driver passed an 18-wheeler in a no-passing zone. The driver drove head-on… pic.twitter.com/KdxZ7wmvkk
— Chris Olivarez (@LtChrisOlivarez) November 8, 2023
According to the spokesman, Lt. Chris Olivarez, the driver of the Honda struck and killed an 18-wheeler and a passenger when he drove straight into a Chevy SUV on U.S. 57 Highway near Batesville. Subsequently, they were recognized as Dalton, Georgia residents Jose Lerma, 67, and Isabel Lerma, 65.
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“As a result, the driver, 21, and five passengers from the Honda were killed,” the Texas Department of Public Safety said.
Photos taken at the scene of the collision reveal both cars to be destroyed entirely and wholly burned.
The other deceased victims’ identities are being withheld until their next of kin are informed. Olivarez reported that several of the fatalities were from Honduras.