Summary of Incident: Driver of human smuggling vehicle dies in collision while evading law enforcement

On Sept. 23, 2025, at 12:50 p.m., Texas Department of Public Safety Troopers observed a black, Chevrolet Camaro and a white, Ford F-150 truck on Boca Chica Boulevard approximately 700 feet east of the South Indiana Avenue intersection. TX DPS Troopers reported the vehicles were engaged in suspicious activity and requested assistance from U.S. Border Patrol Agents to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicles. At 12:55 p.m., a responding Fort Brown Station BPA travelling in the opposite direction turned around, pulled behind the TX DPS vehicle, and activated its emergency lights. At 12:56 p.m., the F-150 sped away west on Boca Chica Boulevard. While the TX DPS Trooper followed the Camaro, the BPA followed the truck and at approximately 12:57 p.m., the truck collided with the rear of a tractor trailer truck near the intersection of Boca Chica Boulevard and South Indiana Avenue. The driver of the F-150 was later identified as a U.S. citizen. As additional BPAs arrived at the crash scene, one person fled from the F-150. BPAs initiated a search but were unable to locate the individual. Inside the vehicle, BPAs located three individuals: the driver, along with another male and a female. All three individuals appeared to be injured. At 12:59 p.m., a BPA requested emergency medical services using their service radio and began assessing the condition of the occupants of the vehicle. At 1:05 p.m., Brownsville Fire and EMS personnel arrived. EMS assumed care of the two illegal alien passengers, while Brownsville Fire began to work on extracting the driver from the vehicle. At 1:35 p.m., EMS personnel transported the male passenger by ambulance to Valley Baptist Medical Center and the female passenger by ambulance to the Valley Regional Medical Center in Brownsville, TX. Brownsville Fire personnel removed the driver from the vehicle at 2:01 p.m. At 2:14 p.m., the Cameron Justice of the Peace arrived and pronounced the driver deceased. BPAs responded to both medical facilities and initiated hospital watch on both illegal aliens. The woman was reported to have a small brain bleed and continues to receive care at the hospital. The man sustained only bruising and scratches, was treated, and released into the custody of BPAs. On Sept. 24, 2025, the Cameron County Forensic Pathology Office in Harlingen, TX., performed an autopsy on the driver. The medical examiner will provide official findings and toxicology results upon completion of the report; however, the medical examiner preliminarily noted that the death appears to be the result of blunt force trauma due to a motor vehicle accident. The TX DPS and DEA are investigating the incident. CBP Office of Professional Responsibility is reviewing it. CBP OPR notified the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General.