SAN ANTONIO — Sixty-two migrants were found after a tanker trailer led law enforcement on a chase from a border patrol checkpoint Friday evening, according to a statement by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Officials say the chase led to a shooting that left one state trooper injured.
According to Texas DPS, the incident occurred Friday in Webb County when a large white truck tractor towing a tanker trailer passed U.S. border checkpoint on U.S. 83. The truck driver refused to stop, and Border Patrol officials left in pursuit of the vehicle. Texas DPS troopers took over the chase.
Texas DPS says the truck driver struck law enforcement vehicles during the chase, sideswiping a La Salle County patrol unit and ramming another DPS patrol unit. This incident left a Texas trooper injured.
Both agencies then fired several rounds at the truck. The driver of the truck sustained several gunshot wounds and was transported to a hospital, according to a Texas DPS statement.
Texas DPS says 62 migrants were found, unharmed, inside the tanker trailer and were referred back to U.S. Border Patrol.
The drive of the truck is a U.S. citizen with a criminal history that includes human smuggling, according to Texas DPS.
An investigation is ongoing through the Texas Rangers.
