REVEALED: Human smuggler who killed American couple and eight migrants after horror attack while fleeing deputies in Texas identified as 17-year-old Honduran teen
The suspected human smuggler who caused a head-on car crash last week that killed him and seven others, including an American couple, has been identified as a 17-year-old teenager from Honduras.
The driver was reportedly trying to elude Zavala County Sheriff’s Office deputies and pass a semi-truck, when he drove into oncoming traffic and collided with an SUV carrying two Americans from Georgia.
The collision occurred about 6:30 a.m. on U.S. Highway 57, near the farming community of Batesville.
The crash killed all eight people on Wednesday, including the teenage driver, the migrants and the American couple identified as Jose Lerma and Isbael Lerma, who were driving to Mexico.
The smuggler was from Honduras and had a Honduran passport but reportedly lived in Houston, officials confirmed. His family has been informed.
The couple died just a month before celebrating their 49th anniversary together
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 American SU.
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.
His immigration status is unclear. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations are working with the Honduran Consulate to investigate: Fox reported.
Jose Lerma, 67, and Isabel Lerma, 65, an American couple from Dalton, Georgia, were killed after their SUV was struck by the suspected human smuggler’s Honda Civic and burst into flames.
Some passengers came from Honduras, department spokesman Christopher Olivarez said in a statement to the Associated Press.
It was unclear how fast the vehicles were traveling, but police photos show both vehicles were mangled and most of the Equinox was burned.
Wednesday’s crash near Batesville — about 80 miles (130 kilometers) southwest of San Antonio — is the latest fatal vehicle crash involving migrants and marks the highest death toll since 13 people were killed in a collision in remote Holtville, California, in March 2021.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas has counted 106 deaths in Border Patrol vehicle pursuits between January 2010 and June of this year.
MAY 4: A similar accident involving a confirmed smuggler occurred six months ago on the same highway, but in that case the driver of the smuggler’s vehicle survived. However, two migrants lost their lives
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)
Deaths averaged 3.5 per year in 2019 but spiked in 2020, prompting officials to develop new vehicle pursuit policies aimed at increasing safety.
The policy announced in January stops short of banning pursuits but, according to CBP, “provides a clear framework for weighing the risks of conducting pursuits, such as the dangers they pose to the public, against the benefit or necessity of law enforcement.”
Local law enforcement agencies have also been involved in fatal accidents in recent years. In June 2022, four migrants were killed in a smuggling attempt following a police chase in the South Texas city of Encinal, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) southeast of Wednesday’s crash.
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.
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 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.
“The driver struck a Chevy SUV head-on, causing the vehicle to catch fire and killing the Georgia driver and passenger.
“As a result, five 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.”
Police later clarified that there were six people in the Honda, all of whom died.
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.
The American couple was on their way to Mexico when the tragedy occurred, their son Jairo Lerma said on a 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.
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.
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.
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.