A suspected human smuggler is facing a slew of charges following a crash in South Texas this week that left three people dead and three more seriously injured, authorities say.
The fatal wreck unfolded just after 6 p.m. on Tuesday evening in Dimmit County, near the Mexican border.
Police were attempting to stop a suspicious SUV on Highway 85 near Carrizo Springs when the driver took evasive action, ultimately losing control of the vehicle while trying to avoid a tire deflation device, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety (TxDPS).
All occupants of the vehicle were ejected during a rollover crash.
“The driver, Enrique Martin Mendez, 20, residence unknown, was transported to the Dimmit Regional Hospital where he was medically released,” TxDPS spokesman Lt. Chris Olivarez explained in a statement.
“Mendez was arrested and transported to the Dimmit County Jail where he is charged with six counts of smuggling of persons causing serious bodily injury or death, three counts of evading arrest causing death, three counts of evading arrest causing serious bodily injury, and an outstanding warrant for assault out of the Dimmit County Sheriff’s Office.”
Three passengers were pronounced deceased at the scene of the wreck, including two unidentified males from Mexico and 56-year-old Steven Wayne Capps of Eden, TX.
Two more males and a female, all from Mexico, were rushed to a San Antonio hospital with serious injuries.
An investigation is ongoing.
Dangerous smuggling pursuits unfold constantly along the U.S.-Mexico border, as InfoWars frequently reports.
