8 dead after suspected human smuggler crashes in Texas
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.
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
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, according to the spokesman, Lt. Chris Olivarez. They were later identified as Jose Lerma, 67, and Isabel Lerma, 65, of Dalton, Georgia.
"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 other deceased victims are being held until the next of kin are notified. Several of the victims were from Honduras, according to Olivarez.
The Honduran Foreign Ministry said in a statement to CBS News that it is in communication with the Zavala County sheriff and awaiting more information about the crash.