Image source: Texas Department of Public Safety, composite
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15-year-old human smuggling suspect leads Texas police on high-speed chase in car full of other illegal immigrants near US-Mexico border
February 16, 2023
A 15-year-old human smuggling suspect from Mexico led Texas police on a high-speed chase in a car full of other illegal immigrants near the U.S.-Mexico border Tuesday.
What happened?
The incident took place in Mission, a Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman said. Mission is just west of McAllen on the border.
Trooper vehicle dashcam video caught the chase from beginning to end, some of it along U.S. Route 83 in Hidalgo County, the spokesman said.
The 15-year-old driver turned off a main road and attempted to evade police through a dirt road, the spokesman said. However, video shows the driver and seven other illegal immigrants bailing out of the vehicle along the dirt road and running toward brush; the clip also shows what appears to be another vehicle further in the distance down the dirt road — presumably another police vehicle — parked sideways and blocking passage.
Image source: Texas Department of Public Safety
Three occupants bailed out from the driver's side, and five occupants bailed out from the passenger side. All eight were apprehended, the spokesman said.
\u201c#RGV: A 15-year-old from Mexico led a @TxDPS Trooper on a high-speed chase in Mission. The driver & 7 illegal immigrants bailed out & ran - all were apprehended. The driver was charged w/ smuggling & evading. He was processed & booked into juvenile detention. #OperationLoneStar\u201d— Chris Olivarez (@Chris Olivarez) 1676485577
The driver was charged with smuggling of persons and evading arrest, the spokesman said, adding that he was processed and booked into juvenile detention.
The other seven illegal immigrants were referred to U.S. Border Patrol, the spokesman said.
How are folks reacting?
A number of commenters on Twitter greeted the news with rather dark humor:
- "Kid actually use[d] turn signal," one commenter quipped. "Might have a future with Uber or delivering pizzas in a few years."
- "Could [have] planned that one better," another user mocked.
- "Joe Biden, look at your accomplishments," another commenter declared.
- "So now he gets 3 meals a day and air [conditioning]," another user noted.
Others were angry:
- "It’s an adult crime; he should do adult time," another commenter wrote.
- "Why blur the suspect’s face?" another user wondered. "He’s a Mexican national, and who knows his real age? Also he’ll be let out and be doing it again tomorrow."
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Sr. Editor, News
Dave Urbanski is a senior editor for Blaze News.
DaveVUrbanski
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