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A crash in Texas has killed at least 14 immigrants, according to ‘My San Antonio.’ The accident occurred when a pickup truck veered off U.S. 59 and crashed into a double-trunked tree near Berclair in Goliad County on Sunday night. The pickup was carrying 23 people at the time of the accident. At least nine others were injured in the crash. At the scene, 11 people were declared dead, including the driver of the truck. According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the 11 men and three women killed came from Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico. DPS Trooper Gerald Bryant said that he noticed two girls around the ages of 12 or 13 along with a boy in his teens among the dead.
At least a dozen people were hospitalized in San Antonio, Corpus Christi and Victoria, according to Bryant. The Bexar County medical examiner’s office said that four people were transported to University Hospital, where an injured man died on Sunday night. One victim taken to Corpus Christi hospital died during the overnight hours. A third victim who was hospitalized died today.
The majority of the truck’s passengers were in the bed, which did not have a covering, according to Mary Jane Martin. Martin is the public information officer for Goliad County.
“This is the most people I’ve seen in any passenger vehicle, and I’ve been an officer for 38 years,” Bryant said.
The accident scene was cleared by the morning but passersby were able to see the horror of the crash still present as the pavement was stained with blood, trees were cut and there was a twisted barbed-wire fence. There was red paint in the area, tracing the path of the truck as it ran down an embankment and slammed into the trees on the side of the road. Vegetation on the accident site was covered in brake fluid.
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Pieces of the vehicle, which was shattered, were strewn around the scene and the right tire of the truck was stuck in a tree. DPS is investigating the crash and the chance that it was the result of tire failure, according to Bryant. Bryant also said that there was no pursuit involved that could have led to the crash.
Brenda Walls, the Berclair Postmaster, said that she would have been driving on U.S. 59 to attend a water aerobics class in Goliad but instead did not go. “I didn’t feel well and didn’t go. God had plans for me to stay home and stay safe.” Walls also said that in June, smugglers of marijuana exited their vehicle near the crash site, leaving everything behind. “We have a lot of illegal trafficking through here.”
