Eight people are dead after a suspected human smuggler collided on Wednesday with another vehicle on a Texas highway, a police spokesperson said.
The fatal crash took place as the suspected smuggler, driving from Houston in a Honda vehicle, tried to evade arrest from the Zavala County Sherriff’s Office, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety said on social media.
The driver of the Honda passed an 18-wheeler in a no-passing zone on U.S. 57 Highway near Batesville and drove head-on into a Chevy SUV, killing the driver and a passenger from Georgia, according to the spokesman, Lt. Chris Olivarez.
“As a result, the driver, 21, and five passengers from the Honda were killed,” the Texas Department of Public Safety said.
Images from the scene of the crash show the two vehicles entirely decimated and charred.
The identities of the deceased are being held until the next of kin are notified. Several of the victims were from Honduras, according to Olivarez.
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