Migrants killed after being ejected from smuggling vehicle

On October 22, 2024, at approximately 9:33 a.m., remote video surveillance system (RVSS) operators broadcasted information regarding potential smuggling activity involving a four-door silver Infinity sedan at the Customs Export Facility (CEF) located approximately .22 miles west of the Otay Mesa Port of Entry (POE), and 31 yards north of the secondary border barrier in Otay Mesa, CA. A responding Border Patrol Agent operating a marked U.S. Border Patrol vehicle entered a parking lot at the CEF as the suspect vehicle was exiting. At approximately 9:34 a.m., the suspect vehicle accelerated in the parking lot and struck the Border Patrol vehicle as it exited to the northwest. Agents searched the area but were unable to locate the suspect vehicle.

At approximately 2:13 p.m., RVSS operators notified agents via radio that two individuals had climbed over the secondary border barrier near the same location and tracked them as they moved north. At approximately 2:15 p.m., RVSS operators reported via radio that the two individuals were observed entering a sedan in the same parking lot as the incident earlier that day. The sedan then exited the CEF parking lot and proceeded northwest on Custom House Lot Plaza Rd., turned east onto Siempre Viva Rd., and then entered State Route 905 Highway headed westbound. At approximately 2:16 p.m., an agent reported via radio the sedan was the same suspect vehicle that was observed earlier that day.

At approximately 2:18 p.m., a Border Patrol canine (K9) unit, operating an unmarked Border Patrol vehicle, broadcasted over radio that he observed a silver Infiniti traveling westbound on State Route (SR) 905 near Britania Road and requested record checks from the Tactical Communications Center, via radio. At approximately 2:19 p.m., the K9 agent broadcasted he was initiating a vehicle stop. The agent broadcast the suspect vehicle's location and notified agents the suspect vehicle failed to stop at a stop sign and continued traveling westbound on SR-905.

At approximately 2:19 p.m., the pursuing agent reported over radio that the suspect vehicle had accelerated to over 100 miles an hour and was pulling away from the Border Patrol vehicle. Approximately five seconds later, the suspect vehicle lost control and struck the back of a California Department of Transportation truck parked on the side of SR-905. The suspect vehicle then struck a guardrail, rolled, and ultimately came to rest upside down near the middle lanes of SR-905. The suspect vehicle traversed approximately 4.2 miles from where it was first observed exiting the CEF to the location of the crash site, spanning approximately four minutes.

A Border Patrol Agent certified as an emergency medical technician and several other agents responded to the location and assessed the condition of the vehicle's occupants. Two occupants were ejected from the suspect vehicle during the crash. A man, later determined to be the driver, was located on the north shoulder of SR-905 and was conscious. Agents secured the driver and remained with him until EMS arrived. A woman was located approximately 20 feet south of the vehicle. Agents observed the woman had extensive trauma. Agents located another man inside the vehicle and stabilized him by administering a neck brace until EMS arrived.

At approximately 2:23 p.m., a California Highway Patrol officer arrived at the scene. The Chula Vista Fire Department, California Fire and Rescue, and Falck ambulance arrived at approximately 2:36 p.m. and 2:43 p.m., respectively, and assumed medical care of all individuals.

At approximately 2:36 p.m., a CalFire Paramedic declared the woman who was ejected from the vehicle, later identified as a citizen of Mexico, deceased at the scene.
At approximately 2:48 p.m., Falck medical personnel extracted the man still in the vehicle, later identified as a citizen of Mexico, from the vehicle and transported him via ambulance to Scripps Mercy Hospital. At approximately 3:05 p.m., Falck medical personnel transported the driver of the suspect vehicle via ambulance to Scripps Mercy Hospital. Agents followed behind the ambulance and established hospital watch on both individuals.

At approximately 7:15 p.m., a Scripps Mercy Hospital doctor declared the man extracted from the car deceased. The driver, a U.S. citizen suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

The California Highway Patrol and the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office are investigating this incident. CBP's Office of Professional Responsibility is reviewing it. The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General was notified.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is America's frontline: the nation's largest law enforcement organization and the world's first unified border management agency. The 65,000+ men and women of CBP protect America on the ground, in the air, and on the seas. We facilitate safe, lawful travel and trade and ensure our country's economic prosperity. We enhance the nation's security through innovation, intelligence, collaboration, and trust.