New details emerge in death of Guatemalan migrant pinned under SUV after smuggling pursuit in El Paso’s Upper Valley

SANTA TERESA, New Mexico (KVIA) -- Border Patrol officials are revealing new information about a crash that killed a Guatemalan migrant in Santa Teresa.

ABC-7 crews were there just minutes after the crash to capture the aftermath. It happened near the corner of Emory Road and West Sunset Drive on July 14, 2024.

About 15 minutes before the rollover, Border Patrol agents saw a silver SUV picking up a number of suspected undocumented migrants about seven miles north of the Santa Teresa Port of Entry.

The agents followed the car as it drove from New Mexico into Texas, then initiated a stop. The car did not yield, officials say, but instead did a U-turn and sped off. When Border Patrol agents caught up with the SUV, they found it had rolled over onto its side off the road.

Texas DPS Troopers arrived soon after to take control of the scene. Officials say the troopers found several injured people inside of the car, and one Guatemalan woman pinned under the car.

The troopers called for medical services. El Paso Fire Department crews rushed over and extracted the woman, who has not been publicly identified, from beneath the car, according to CBP officials. The crew found the woman was unconscious but still had a pulse. She had suffered a crushing injury and was bleeding from her mouth and ears, officials said today.

The woman spent the next few days at UMC. Doctors pronounced her dead on July 18, 2024. An autopsy conducted the next day revealed her cause of death was accidental blunt force trauma.

"CBP Office of Professional Responsibility is reviewing the incident," a CBP spokesperson stated today. "The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General was notified."

CBP officials have not given any updates on the other passengers or the driver of the car. So far, no arrests have been announced in this crash.