Woman sentenced to prison after fatal high-speed escape from Border Patrol
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KVIA) -- Georgina Ramirez, 44, received a 10-year prison sentence for a human smuggling attempt that ended in a fatal high-speed escape from law enforcement.
Court documents state that on September 20, 2023, Ramirez stopped at a Border Patrol checkpoint on I-10 West.
"Upon questioning, Ramirez presented her driver’s license but refused to fully lower a rear window, arousing agents’ suspicions," a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico said. "As agents attempted further inspection, Ramirez suddenly accelerated, fleeing the checkpoint at high speed."
Federal prosecutors say that Ramirez then led agents on a six-mile pursuit without headlights on. She drove at top speeds of 110 miles per hour, officials say. Court documents state that Ramirez eventually stopped in a median and her five passengers ran out of the car.
"During the escape, one passenger attempted to cross the interstate and was fatally struck by a passing semi-truck," the spokesperson explained. "Border Patrol agents apprehended Ramirez and five other passengers, four of whom were determined to be undocumented noncitizens without legal status in the United States. The deceased individual was also found to be unlawfully present in the country."
The spokesperson said that Ramirez admitted that she had agreed to drive the migrants to Deming. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport migrants and high-speed flight from an immigration checkpoint.
