A Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agent and a civilian motorist were seriously injured when the driver crashed his vehicle at a high rate of speed into an interior immigration highway inspection checkpoint. The agent was staffing the inspection station at the time of the accident, which occurred shortly after noon on Wednesday.
According to law enforcement sources, the accident occurred at the U.S. Highway 277 Checkpoint near Carrizo Springs, Texas. The motorist, who law enforcement authorities believe may have been distracted, failed to slow his vehicle before striking a shade structure and a parked Border Patrol vehicle at the facility.
An air ambulance prepares to fly a seriously injured Border Patrol agent and a civilian motorist to a San Antonio trauma center. (Law Enforcement Source)
According to the source, the civilian motorist’s vehicle struck the injured agent as he sat in his marked Border Patrol unit. The civilian driver and the agent suffered serious injuries during the accident and were airlifted to a San Antonio medical facility shortly thereafter. A shade structure used by the agents to inspect commuters passing through the facility was destroyed.
A CBP source said the accident is the second to occur at a highway inspection station in 24 hours. On Tuesday night, another accident occurred on Arizona’s State Route 80 near Tombstone, Arizona. In that incident, another civilian motorist failed to slow down for the warning signs alerting drivers to the presence of the checkpoint. The driver in that accident and a Border Patrol agent suffered injuries requiring hospitalization.
A civilian vehicle crashed into a Border Patrol agent’s parked vehicle at an interior immigration checkpoint. (Law Enforcement Source)
The Border Patrol operates numerous highway checkpoints as part of an in-depth, multi-layered strategy. Although an effective means of detecting human smuggling and other crimes related to border security, the checkpoints can prove dangerous to the agents on duty.
Inattentive motorists failing to adhere to warning signs, traffic cones, and lights cautioning drivers to slow and stop for inspection have injured agents and other motorists. These accidents come despite the warning lights and signage on the highway to warn motorists as they approach the checkpoints.
As reported by Breitbart, Texas, in December 2022, a Border Patrol agent was critically injured after a motorcyclist suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol slammed into a protective vehicle barricade at a highway inspection station near Tombstone, Arizona — the same location as Tuesday’s accident.
The motorcycle and driver were sent flying into the air during that crash. The agent suffered extensive injuries and reportedly faced the potential of blindness, brain damage, and other serious injuries after being struck in the chest and head by the motorcycle.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX.