Soldiers are investigating the fatal crash in which the driver, who is suspected of human trafficking, evaded law enforcement and hit a commercial vehicle, according to a tweet from the South Texas District of DPS. The driver was airlifted to a hospital, according to Olivarez. The I-35 is a major north-south route to the central United States for traffic and trade from the southern border. The route is often exploited by smugglers at a time when record numbers of immigrants are being intercepted at the US-Mexico border. On Monday in San Antonio, about 120 miles north of I-35 from the Encinal, 53 immigrants were killed in what the Homeland Security Officer called the deadliest human trafficking incident in U.S. history. A worker near the interstate called the San Antonio police after he found a tractor-trailer abandoned under the hot sun on a back road, with dozens of dead migrants inside. Some victims may be under 18 years old. “The floor of the trailer … was completely covered with bodies. It was completely covered with bodies,” police chief William McManus told CNN. “There were at least 10 bodies outside the trailer.” Authorities in Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras have said they are working with the United States to find the people who died in San Antonio. More than a dozen people were found alive inside the tractor-trailer and were treated for heat-related conditions, authorities said. Four people were arrested for the incident of human trafficking. Homero Zamorano Jr., 45, originally from Brownsville but living in Pasadena, Texas, was arrested Wednesday on charges of allegedly involved in human trafficking resulting in death, according to a U.S. Department of Justice statement. According to public records, Zamorano has a long criminal record dating back to the 1990s. Laredo Sector Border Patrol surveillance plans showed the tractor-trailer passing through an immigration checkpoint, according to the DOJ. The driver appeared to be wearing a black striped shirt and hat. Zamorano matched the driver in the surveillance video, the Justice Department said. CNN could not determine if he had a lawyer. Another suspect, 28-year-old Christian Martinez, was arrested in Palestine, Texas, on Tuesday and charged with conspiracy to smuggle undocumented migrants, resulting in his death, the Justice Department said. Two other men, Juan Claudio D’Luna-Mendez and Juan Francisco D’Luna-Bilbao, have been charged with “illegal possession of an alien weapon in the United States,” according to criminal charges filed Monday. Authorities located the men after responding to the incident in a van, according to the affidavit. D’Luna-Mendez’s lawyer declined to comment. CNN contacted D’Luna-Bilbao’s lawyer for comment. CNN’s Rosa Flores contributed to this report.
