Woman declared deceased following a single vehicle rollover accident

EL PASO, TEXAS - On Wednesday, January 24, 2024, at approximately 12:03 a.m., U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) El Paso Sector dispatch broadcasted to agents via service radio a sighting of six or seven possible migrants on foot near the SR-185 USBP checkpoint. A Border Patrol agent from the Las Cruces Station assigned to the SR-185 USBP checkpoint responded to the area in a Mobile Video Surveillance System (MVSS) truck. A Border Patrol agent driving a marked vehicle and a Border Patrol agent K9 handler driving an unmarked K9 unit also responded to the area.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) established the following information and timeline based on its preliminary review of radio traffic, body worn camera footage, and interviews of involved personnel.

As the agent in the marked vehicle drove south on Levee Road from the intersection of Kit Carson Road and Levee Road, the agent K9 handler in the unmarked vehicle remained stationary at the intersection. The U.S. Border Patrol agent traveling south in the marked vehicle observed a tan sedan with a broken headlight driving north at a high rate of speed. As the tan sedan passed by, the agent observed a male driver, a female passenger, and multiple individuals in the back seat sitting on top of one another. The agent turned the marked vehicle around and drove north on Levee Road.

At approximately 12:48 a.m., the Border Patrol agent broadcasted over service radio that the sedan had multiple occupants believed to be undocumented non-citizens. The driver of the sedan started to turn right onto Kit Carson Road, but adjusted course to continue north on Levee Road. The K9 handler Border Patrol agent in the unmarked vehicle at the intersection followed the sedan north, activated the vehicle's emergency equipment, and attempted to conduct a vehicle stop. The sedan stopped for approximately 1-3 seconds on Levee Road. The Border Patrol agent in the marked vehicle (behind the K9 handler Border Patrol agent) then activated his emergency equipment. As the Border Patrol agent in the marked vehicle pulled up next to the unmarked Border Patrol K9 vehicle, the driver of the sedan drove north at a high rate of speed. Because of the wet road conditions, both Border Patrol agents turned off all emergency equipment, and continued traveling north on Levee Road.

The Border Patrol agents reportedly lost sight of the sedan for approximately 15-20 seconds. Approximately one minute and thirty-three seconds later, and 1.2 miles away from the location of the attempted vehicle stop, the Border Patrol agent operating the marked vehicle observed the sedan had exited the roadway and appeared to have been in a single vehicle rollover accident. The agent observed one individual running across Levee Road and broadcasted via service radio a possible wreck and absconders. The Border Patrol agent also requested assistance from emergency medical services (EMS).

As the Border Patrol agent approached the crashed sedan, the agent observed one conscious woman on the ground a few feet away from the vehicle. The woman was later identified to be a U.S. citizen. The Border Patrol agent located an unidentified woman in the back seat of the sedan with visible injuries. The other Border Patrol agent operating the MVSS unit arrived and immediately assisted the female U.S. citizen to a U.S. Border Patrol vehicle. That agent then approached the sedan and rendered aid to the woman in the back seat. The agent spoke with the woman, and she responded only by nodding her head. The Border Patrol agents decided not to remove the woman from the sedan to prevent further injury. The agents then searched the area for other occupants of the sedan.

At approximately 1:06 a.m., the woman in the sedan became unresponsive and the Border Patrol agent checked her vital signs. The agent could not locate a pulse and extracted her from the sedan. The agent placed her on the ground and broadcasted her condition via service radio. The agent then administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

At approximately 1:11 a.m., the Border Patrol agent broadcasted over service radio that the woman was still unresponsive. The agent placed the woman on her side in a recovery position, conducted a welfare check of the female U.S. citizen inside the marked vehicle, and then returned to the unresponsive woman. The Border Patrol agent attempted to locate a pulse a second time and could not locate one. The agent re-initiated CPR and the woman began foaming at the mouth, at which point the agent returned her to the recovery position.

At approximately 1:20 a.m., American Medical Response emergency medical services (EMS) personnel arrived on scene and assumed primary care of both women. The EMS personnel immediately attached an electrocardiogram (EKG) heart monitor to the unresponsive woman. No heartbeat was detected and no further life saving measures were performed. At approximately 1:23 a.m., EMS personnel disconnected the EKG.

Border Patrol agents subsequently located six additional individuals, including the male driver, who was a U.S. citizen. Border Patrol agents determined that five of the individuals were undocumented non-citizens, all citizens of Guatemala. Border Patrol agents transported four of the undocumented non-citizens to Las Cruces Border Patrol Station for processing. EMS personnel transported one undocumented non-citizen and the injured female U.S. citizen to Mountain View Regional Medical Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

At approximately 5:40 a.m., New Mexico's Office of the Medical Investigator personnel arrived on scene. They pronounced the woman deceased at approximately 6:13 a.m., and later determined that the deceased was also a Guatemalan national.

The Doña Ana Sheriff's Office and Homeland Security Investigations are investigating this incident, and CBP Office of Professional Responsibility is reviewing it. The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General has been notified.

This notification is being issued to the public pursuant to the CBP policy regarding Notification and Review Procedures for Certain Deaths and Deaths in Custody and the Department of Homeland Security FY 2021 Appropriation (H. Rept. 116-458) reporting requirements related to CBP-involved deaths.

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.