Man delivers pizza to immigrants found in semi-truck in San Antonio
After one Texas man saw the news that more than 50 undocumented immigrants found in the back of a semi-truck Tuesday night were left waiting without food, he decided to help by bringing them a hot meal.
Armando Colunga, a tow-truck driver on San Antonio's east side, tells CBS San Antonio affiliate KENS that he didn't know all the details of their situation; he didn't need to. He simply saw hungry people.
"The first thing that popped into my head: How long have they been stuck in that trailer with no food? How long before they got into the trailer before they had anything to eat?" Colunga told the station.
Officials say the truck was air conditioned and the 55 people inside had water, but were hungry.
Colunga saw news coverage of the incident, drove to a nearby Little Caesars after work and bought several pizzas to bring to the scene. He says he thanks the law enforcement officers who took the pizza and helped deliver it to the immigrants.
Colunga says he hopes others will have compassion for the immigrants, regardless of their reasons for being in the trailer.
"Don't look at the color, don't look at race. Look at people just as human. Don't judge," Colunga told KENS.
Officials haven't officially said where the people were from or where they were going, but two Guatemalan nationals told KENS that they had been traveling inside of the truck for 10 days before the raid. The man and the woman told the station they paid nearly $11,000 to make the trek.
Some of the 55 were treated by Emergency Medical Services personnel for minor injuries, and five were transported to a nearby hospital. The remaining 50 people were taken to a detention center.
Gerardo Carreon, a 36-year-old from Laredo, was taken into custody and is expected to be charged with felony human smuggling violation, according to KENS-TV, but it's unclear if he was the driver of the truck.