Eight dead in Texas two-vehicle crash involving suspected human smuggler fleeing from authorities

By Joe Sutton, CNN

(CNN) — Eight people were killed in a collision in Zavala County, Texas, involving two vehicles – one possibly tied to a human smuggling operation that was fleeing law enforcement – according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

The crash occurred Wednesday on US 57 near the town of Batesville, in southwest Texas, about 60 miles from the border with Mexico.

“The driver in a Honda passenger car from Houston suspected of human smuggling was evading from Zavala (County deputies) when the driver passed an 18-wheeler in a no-passing zone,” public safety department spokesman Chris Olivarez said in a post on X.

The Honda hit a Chevrolet SUV head-on, causing the Chevy to burst into flames, killing the driver and a passenger. Both victims in the SUV were from Georgia, Olivarez wrote.

Additionally, “five passengers, including the suspected smuggler of the Honda, were killed. Troopers confirmed several of the deceased are from Honduras,” the spokesperson added.

Olivarez later told CNN by phone that they determined six people who were in the Honda had died.

Authorities have not released the identities of the deceased. The investigation is ongoing.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

CNN’s Steve Almasy contributed to this report.