PHOTO: Two innocent U.S. citizens Jose and Isabel Lerma who were killed when a human smuggler with a car full of illegal migrants crashed into their SUV while fleeing deputies in Texas
Two innocent American citizens have been identified among eight people killed when a human smuggler, with a car full of illegal migrants, rammed into an SUV on a Texas highway.
Jose Lerma, 67, and Isabel Lerma, 65, of Dalton, Georgia, were killed in the early morning crash Wednesday after their SUV was struck by the suspected human smuggler’s Honda Civic and burst into flames.
The incident occurred on US Highway 57 near the farming community of Batesville, Texas, as the human smuggler attempted to flee from deputies.
Police said the car had driven away from local officers at a high rate of speed just before the crash, which happened while trying to pass an 18-wheeler in a no-passing zone.
Everyone involved was killed, including six people in the Honda, and Jose and Isabel Lerma, who were in the SUV.
Authorities later revealed that some of the deceased, including the suspected smuggler, were from Honduras.
Jose Lerma, 67, and Isabel Lerma, 65, of Dalton, Georgia, were killed in the early morning crash Wednesday after their SUV was struck by the suspected human smuggler’s Honda Civic and burst into flames
The incident occurred on US Highway 57 near the farming community of Batesville, Texas, as the human smuggler attempted to flee from sheriff’s deputies.
While the crash was still being investigated, it killed everyone involved, police confirmed, and also caused an explosion at the scene that was captured in a photo. Photos from the scene showed the wreckage burning on the highway, as well as the burned-out SUV and the totaled Honda (seen at left)
The couple was on their way to Mexico when the tragedy occurred, their son Jairo Lerma said in a statement GoFundMe page.
“These events are things that no one expects,” he said, adding that the “shocking” news has left the “hearts and souls of the family sad.”
The fundraiser raised more than $7,000 as of Friday afternoon, with hundreds of donors expressing their love and condolences.
On Wednesday morning, Isabel posted a birthday wish to a friend on her Facebook page, but less than an hour later the car crash tragically claimed the lives of both her and her husband.
The couple died just a month before celebrating their 49th anniversary together.
Department Lt. Chris Olivarez shared photos of the two totalitarian vehicles and said, “(Texas DPS) is investigating a fatal two-vehicle crash on US 57 near Batesville.
“The driver of a Honda passenger car from Houston, suspected of human smuggling, eluded Zavala COSO when the driver passed an 18-wheeler in a no-passing zone,” the officer added.
“The driver struck a Chevy SUV head-on, causing the vehicle to catch fire and killing the Georgia driver and passenger.
“As a result, six passengers were killed, including the suspected smuggler of the Honda.
“Troopers have confirmed that several of the dead are from Honduras. Identities will be released once next of kin have been notified.
“This is still an ongoing investigation.”
While the crash was still being investigated, it killed everyone involved, police confirmed, and also caused an explosion at the scene that was captured in a photo.
That car, a white Honda that lay crushed after the incident, eluded arrest by the Zavala County Sherriff’s Office when it passed an 18-wheeler in a restricted zone and collided with the Americans’ SUV.
The couple died just a month before celebrating their 49th anniversary together
Isabel posted a birthday wish to a friend on her Facebook page, but less than an hour later the car accident tragically claimed the lives of both her and her husband.
The mishap comes as the Biden administration continues to grapple with the flow of migrants from South and Central America — as 2.47 million people were stopped at the border in fiscal year 2023, up from the previous record of 2, 4 million the year before.
This year alone, the number of crossings of the Darien Gap – a stretch of treacherous jungle connecting Central America to the south on the Panama-Colombia border – shot up to an estimated 500,000, up from about 400,000 the year before.
Previously, annual crossings for that route were pegged at 200,000 or fewer, shining a light on the staggering increase in migration felt in the United States in recent years.
In August, U.S. Border Patrol made 181,509 apprehensions at the Mexican border, a 37 percent increase from July, but little change from August 2022 and well below a high of more than 220,000 in December, according to figures released Friday .
The decline in numbers was reversed after new asylum restrictions were introduced in May. This comes after years of steadily rising migration levels due to economic crises and social unrest in many of the countries where people are fleeing.
The Biden administration, meanwhile, has pushed Mexico and Central American countries to control migration flows and is now requiring asylum seekers to register through an app known as CBP One — despite its failure to stem the crises occur on American soil in New York and Texas.
The country also recently announced that it will grant temporary protected status to nearly half a million additional Venezuelans already in the country.
The incident further underscores the historic number of people moving north in search of a new life in the U.S., often at the expense of U.S. citizens in places like Texas.
The crisis is also being felt further north in places like Chicago (pictured), where a group of migrants were pictured leaving a bus near a Greyhound station after being transported from Texas.
In September, Border Patrol sources told ABC News that nearly 9,000 migrants were apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border that day alone — the highest number since May.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, meanwhile, has repeatedly eviscerated Biden for allowing the unfolding disaster.
Late last month, the Biden administration announced it would grant temporary protected status to nearly half a million Venezuelans already in the country.
Activists like Ponce say they expect other modes of crossing — such as migration along Mexico’s rail lines and more smuggling incidents — to increase as a result, especially afollowing Biden’s recent revocation of Title 42.
The COVID-era policy that allowed border agents to send migrants back across the border more freely.
Meanwhile, migrant numbers continue to rise, forcing Texas officers stationed along the southern border to remain on high alert and watch for both human and drug smuggling.
In the case of the recent crash, DPS officials said the driver of the Honda was suspected of human smuggling. Their investigation is still ongoing.