Truck driver in custody after 80-100 people bail out of trailer at San Antonio truck stop
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is investigating a suspected large scale human smuggling attempt that ended with dozens of people fleeing from a tractor trailer at a Texas truck stop on Thursday night.
The incident began around 6:30 p.m. on May 6 when the San Antonio Police Department received a call about a suspicious 18 wheeler traveling east on I-10.
San Antonio Park Police located the truck and pulled the vehicle over at the TA truck stop at I-10 and North Foster Road.
.@SATXPolice says 29 people were detained traveling in the back of this truck when someone called suspicious behavior related to the truck. Several more people were believed to have ran off pic.twitter.com/DjtEM3sMw7
— @KSATPattySantos (@ksatpattysantos) May 7, 2021
According to local news outlet KSAT, when officers approached the 49 year old truck driver, an estimated 80 to 100 people began running from the trailer into nearby brush.
Police were able to detain 29 people who fled from the trailer. One person needed medical attention for dehydration.
The San Antonio Police Department says that the truck driver could be facing federal charges related to human smuggling.
The Department of Homeland Security is leading the investigation into the incident.