A Border Patrol detention van was involved in a roll-over traffic incident Thursday morning, injuring several and closing down part of the interstate near the Texas border.
“It was a two-vehicle accident with both vehicles traveling westbound along Interstate 10,” Gregory Davis, a spokesman for Customs and Border Protection, told Newsweek. The other vehicle, an 18-wheel truck “failed to maintain its lane,” and “encroached into the passing lane, forcing the van onto the median.”
“The van rolled over multiple times I believe,” said Davis.
Potentially six or seven people, including both the driver, who is a Border Patrol agent, and several detained migrants, were sent to various hospitals for their injuries.
The injury transport operations included several ambulances and more than one helicopter trip to regional hospitals. “No deaths, no fatalities,” said Davis, who also noted that he could not provide details about the identities of the individuals involved, but he hoped to be able to release more information about the crash and the health status of those involved later in the day.
Today, at approx. 7:25 a.m. CST, a Border Patrol Agent transporting detainees on IH-10 approx. 2 miles east of Van Horn, Texas, was involved in a vehicle accident. EMS has responded. Incident under investigation. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.
— CBP West Texas (@CBPWestTexas) June 10, 2021
The West Texas department of Customs and Border Protection released a statement via Twitter Thursday. “Initial information indicates that today, at approximately 7:25 a.m. CST, a U.S. Border Patrol Agent transporting detainees along Interstate 10 near mile marker 145 approximately two miles east of Van Horn Texas, was involved in a vehicle accident,” the statement said.
“All available medical assistance was requested to the scene. Office of Professional Responsibility has been notified/is currently investigating this incident. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.”
Traffic was temporarily detoured off of Interstate 10, and onto a frontage road by Texas State Troopers who were on the scene investigating the accident. The El Paso branch of the Texas Department of Transportation tweeted a traffic update and footage of the rollover crash on Thursday morning: “TRAFFIC ALERT!! I-10 westbound closed at MM 143 @TxDPS investigating rollover crash. Traffic detoured to frontage road until further notice.”
This is not the only recent nearby incident of a Border Patrol vehicle being involved in a crash near the Texas border. Just one week prior to Thursday’s crash, on June 2, a train hit a Border Patrol vehicle that was stopped on its tracks in the El Paso, Texas area.
A Border Patrol agent was running after a suspect and left the vehicle parked near the tracks, with the door open. The train then crashed into the vehicle, catching the door, KFOX14 reported.
The Sunland Park Police Department said the crash occurred near Brickland Road on the Texas side of the border, and that no injuries were reported.
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