5 People Dead as SUV Being Chased by Border Agents Crashes

At least five people were killed and several others hurt Sunday as an SUV carrying more than a dozen people crashed while fleeing from Border Patrol agents in South Texas.

The SUV went out of control at more than 100 mph and overturned on Texas Highway 85, ejecting those inside, Dimmit County Sheriff Marion Boyd said.

Four victims were dead at the scene, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. A fifth person died at a hospital.

Most of the occupants were believed to be in the country without legal permission. Boyd told San Antonio station WOAI the driver and one passenger were believed to be U.S. citizens. The driver was among those hospitalized and he and the passenger were in custody.

“This, I think, is a perfect example, of why our borders need to be secured,” Boyd said.

Some injured were taken by helicopter to San Antonio, about 90 miles northeast. Dimmit County is directly north of Webb County and east of Maverick County, which border Mexico.

The incident comes amid heightened tensions over the treatment of immigrants at the southern border. Over a six-week period ending in May, about 2,000 children had been separated from their families entering the border illegally, administration officials said Friday.