A semi truck full of migrants led police on a pursuit that ended in a crash through a cemetery in Texas on Monday night. 

 

The incident occurred on March 11th in Encinal, Texas at about 10 p.m. 

According to News4 San Antonio,  Border Patrol contacted the Encinal Police Department to alert them that they were pursuing a semi truck that had bypassed the border checkpoint. Police said that the truck was suspected of smuggling migrants, and that the it was heading their way. 

 

Encinal police stationed themselves along East Access Road on I-35 on the edge of the city to avoid pursuing the vehicle through town. As they waited, they heard a loud screech of brakes and watched the semi truck full of migrants crash through the front gates of Encinal Cemetery. The impact heavily damaged the gates and the semi truck. 

Once officers arrived at the crash site, 16 migrants were taken into custody and two men were found dead. 

“Due to the crash, it made some people that were in the upmost part of the truck tractor, they fell from the tractor towards the ground. Unfortunately, they lost their lives,” said Sgt. Erick Estrada, with the Texas Department of Public Safety to KGNS

 

No further details about the incident or deceased have been released