March 7, 2022

Border Patrol agents’ pursuit of a pickup truck ended in a rollover crash that killed two people and seriously injured four along Interstate 19 in Amado, Arizona, between Tucson and Nogales. (Original link) CBP reported that a Border Patrol agent driving an unmarked vehicles was responding to a camera operator’s report of migrants being loaded into a truck, when the agent spotted the pickup and sought to pull it over. “The driver of the pickup truck failed to yield to the Border Patrol agent’s emergency equipment and a vehicle pursuit ensued.”

The Tucson Sentinel reported:

During the chase, the truck ran off the frontage road, rolled, and smashed into several trees, ejecting people from the bed, said a spokesman for the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

The driver and one passenger were pronounced dead at the scene, and four other passengers were transported to the hospital with serious to life-threatening injuries, DPS said.

The deceased driver was a male U.S. citizen. The deceased passenger was a male Mexican citizen. Both died of “blunt force trauma.”

CBP reported, “This incident is being investigated by Arizona Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security Investigations, and is being reviewed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility.”

— U.S. Customs and Border Protection. “Two Dead and Several Injured Following Rollover Crash Near Amado, Arizona,” March 17, 2022. <https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/speeches-and-statements/two-dead-and-several-injured-following-rollover-crash-near-amado>.

— Ingram, Paul. “2 Killed in Rollover Crash during Border Patrol Chase South of Tucson.” Tucson Sentinel. March 9, 2022. <http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report//030922_fatal_bp_crash/>.

Sector(s): Tucson

Agency(ies): Border Patrol

Event Type(s): Vehicle Pursuit

Accountability Status: Under ICE-HSI Investigation, Under Local Police investigation, Under OPR Investigation

Victim Classification: Mexico, Single Adult