3 killed as truck crashes while fleeing Border Patrol in San Diego County
A violent crash involving a truck fleeing the Border Patrol at over 100 mph has resulted in the deaths of three people and eight more injuries.
The crash happened while a Chevrolet Silverado packed with 11 people failed to yield at the border in San Diego County, California, according to San Diego ABC affiliate KGTV.
Cal Fire San Diego reported three people were killed and eight people were injured when the truck hit a spike strip deployed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents and careened off the road and into an embankment. Five suffered minor injuries and three are considered major injuries. One woman and two men were killed.
There were nine people in the truck were in the bed and everyone fell out of the back during the accident. The only person who wasn't ejected was the driver, who was wearing a seat belt.
The truck was coming across the border from Mexico, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said. The crash took place at about 4:30 p.m. in Campo, California, just a mile from the border.
Cal Fire said the vehicle was driving over 100 mph in wet conditions on Interstate 8 when a spike strip was placed down and caused the accident.
The driver of the vehicle was an American and has been arrested, KGTV said, though it's unclear the nationalities of the other occupants of the vehicle.
Alcohol or drugs are not expected to be a factor, the Border Patrol said.
A similar accident took place in Texas in June when the Border Patrol pursued a vehicle that refused to stop at a checkpoint. The vehicle crashed and five undocumented immigrants were killed.
In that crash, 14 people were crammed into an SUV and several people were ejected, authorities said.
The U.S.-Mexico border has become an increasingly heated national topic as President Donald Trump pushes for funding for a wall along the border. He has made the wall a tenant of his presidency since the campaign and recently ordered military to the border to provide support for immigration officials.
ABC News' Marilyn Heck contributed to this report.
