Two killed, five injured in Texas car crash after high-speed chase with Border Patrol agents
RIO BRAVO, TEXAS: Two people were killed and five others were hurt in a wreck after a high-speed chase with Border Patrol agents in Southern Texas on Saturday, February 25. The deadly crash took place around 3.00 am in Rio Bravo, just across the Rio Grande from Mexico, after the Border Patrol officers attempted to stop the vehicle carrying seven people.
The chase halted when the car struck a fence and then smashed into a light pole, severing the vehicle in half, according to Rio Bravo Fire Chief Juan C, Gonzalez. "The car then ejected six people, which left four critically injured, one just being injured, and two casualties," Gonzalez stated as reported by Loredo Morning Times. The names of those in the car have not been made public.
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3 former Texas high school athletes die in fiery crash as car swerves off road during police chase
Details of the incident still developing
The incident is being investigated by the Webb County Sheriff's Office and is being examined by the US Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility, as well as Immigration and Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, according to Border Patrol. The Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General was also informed, reports New York Post. Rio Bravo Fire Chief Gonzalez told LMT around 11.00 am that "medical examiners just removed the bodies" from the scene. As this is a developing story, MEAWW will keep you updated.
Similar incident took place in January 2023
In a similar incident that took place in January 2023, officials in Texas reported that three ex-high school athletes were killed in a fiery collision after leading police on a high-speed chase. Police attempted to pursue 19-year-old Phabian Byanum around 4.00 pm, but the suspect did not stop and instead gave authorities a high-speed chase on US 190 between the towns of Cameron and Milano outside Austin. He was accompanied by fellow passengers Davarius Bynaum, 20, and Malik Thomas, 21, when the car crash occurred police said. It is not clear if the Phabian and Davarius were related. All three young men had recently graduated and were athletes at Cameron High School, reported MEAWW.
High-speed police chases result in an average of more than 320 fatalities annually, with 27% of those slain being innocent bystanders, as per reports. One of the biggest legal resource websites in the world, which quoted a study that claimed police pursuits are the most dangerous activities in law enforcement, more than 5,000 bystanders have died while engaging in police pursuits in the United States since 1979, reports News Week.
