Eagle Pass, Texas – U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Eagle Pass South Station were involved in an incident in which the driver fled from an immigration checkpoint, Dec. 10.

“These acts committed by criminals risk the lives of our agents and the traveling public,” said Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Raul L. Ortiz. “Thanks to agents and our law enforcement partners, the community is safe and no one was injured.”

Border Patrol agents assigned to the Highway 57 immigration checkpoint, near Eagle Pass, referred a GMC Sierra pickup truck to a secondary inspection location. The driver fled from the inspection area at a high rate of speed. CBP Office of Air and Marine aircraft, along with Uvalde County Sherriff’s Office deputies responded to assist. The driver eventually stopped near Uvalde at the intersection of Highway 481 and Highway 90, where two people fled from the vehicle. The two individuals were apprehended by the pursing deputies and agents after a short foot chase.

Both individuals face a federal charge of 18 USC § 758, high speed flight from an immigration checkpoint, which carries a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison.