Texas Border Patrol agents arrested a 48-year-old truck driver on federal and state charges after he blew through a border checkpoint in Freer, Texas and led troopers on a high-speed chase through five counties.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the driver had been referred to a secondary inspection at the Freer Border Patrol Checkpoint on Highway 44, just west of Laredo, after a K-9 alerted officials to the presence of narcotics and people inside the trailer.
Instead of stopping, the driver lead police on a three-hour highway pursuit. The truck reached speeds of 90 miles per hour, and at times, attempted to run the officers off the highway. The chase began around 3:40 a.m. Thursday.
Spikes were deployed in Atascosa County, blowing out the truck’s tires, but the driver kept driving on his rims.
Troopers chased the truck through Atascosa, Bexar, Comal, Duval and McMullen counties, a dispatcher with the Live Oak Police Department told KENS-5 News.
When the vehicle finally stopped on I-35 in Kyle, Texas, the troopers found 9 people inside. Of those, seven were in the country illegally.
The driver was taken into custody and faces a number of state and federal charges.
“Fleeing from a Border Patrol checkpoint is not only against the law, it also endangers the motoring public and agents by placing them at a substantial risk. This was a collaborative effort among the law enforcement agencies and exemplifies the outstanding partnership along the South Texas border,” CBP South Texas Commander Robert L. Harris told KENS-5 News.
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