Seven suspected undocumented immigrants were killed and eight others were injured when a truck being chased by police crashed into a security barrier at a Navy facility in Texas, CNN reported.
Fifteen people were in the truck, with 10 crammed inside, and five under a tark in the truck's bed, spokesman for Naval Air Station Kingsville John Gagne said.
The crash occurred late Wednesday evening. The car they were driving, a GMC Sierra, was being chased by Kingsville police at about 11:15 p.m. when it ran the checkpoint; it has yet to be determined why the truck was being pursued.
The truck reportedly slammed into the second security posted, after guards deployed a pop-up barrier outside a second security post.
"That's exactly what the barrier is designed to prevent. It's quite possible this guy didn't even know where he was," Gagne said.
No one in the military or law enforcement agencies were hurt. Names of the victims had not been released as of late Thursday afternoon, CNN reported.
Greg Palmore, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the crash victims are from Guatemala and Honduras. The driver was among those injured, he said.
