Eight people died in a South Texas car crash Wednesday while police chased a driver suspected of smuggling migrants. Texas Department of Public Safety says it happened around 6:30 a.m. when the driver of a Honda Civic tried to outrun deputies from the Zavala County Sheriff’s Office.

The crash happened around 6:30 a.m. when the driver of a 2009 Honda Civic tried to outrun deputies from the Zavala County Sheriff’s Office and attempted to pass a semi truck, the state Department of Public Safety said. The Civic collided with a 2015 Chevrolet Equinox, which caught fire.

Everyone in both vehicles was killed, according to DPS. That includes the 21-year-old driver of the Civic, who as from Houston, and his five passengers. Some of the passengers were from Honduras, department spokesman Christopher Olivarez said in a statement. The two people in the Equinox were from Georgia.

  • PrincessLeiasCat@lemmy.world
    0·
    1 year ago

    The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas has tallied 106 deaths in Border Patrol vehicle pursuits from January 2010 to June of this year. Deaths averaged 3.5 a year through 2019 but spiked in 2020, leading officials to develop a new policy for vehicle pursuits with an eye toward increasing safety.

    The policy announced in January stops short of prohibiting chases but, according to CBP, “provides a clear framework for weighing the risks of conducting pursuits, such as the dangers they present to the public, against the law enforcement benefit or need.”

    Either the framework isn’t as clear as you think it is, or they just don’t give a shit.