09 Nov Three Dead in Four-Vehicle Brownsville Crash After Driver Flees Border Patrol Stop Attempt

Three people died and several others were hurt Saturday, Nov. 7, in a four-vehicle collision in Brownsville that began when Border Patrol agents tried to pull over a car suspected of carrying smuggled migrants, the Texas Department of Public Safety said.

The driver of the car, Juan Munoz, 34, of San Benito, and two of his passengers were killed, according to DPS. Munoz was rushed to Valley Regional Medical Center and died there. The two passengers died at the scene. DPS had not named them and said it would do so after notifying relatives.

According to DPS, Munoz was behind the wheel of a red BMW 328i carrying five people, whom DPS described as two nationals of Mexico, one of Honduras and two of Costa Rica. DPS said agents attempted to stop the car while it was westbound on State Highway 4 near FM 1419, and the driver kept going. At State Highway 4 and North Indiana Avenue, the BMW ran a red light and slammed into a green Hyundai Santa Fe whose driver was a woman traveling with a young boy.

The Hyundai rolled several times and came to rest in the westbound lanes. The BMW then spun across into the eastbound lanes and hit a silver GMC Sierra with a male driver, before striking an Acura MDX SUV, also driven by a woman with a boy riding with her.

The Hyundai’s two occupants and the GMC’s driver went to a hospital with minor injuries. The Acura’s driver declined medical care.

The other three people in the BMW were hospitalized, DPS said, with one listed as stable and two as critical.

DPS is continuing to investigate the crash. The smuggling allegation comes from the agency’s preliminary findings.