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10 still elude authorities after chase
Officials suspect truck was among several in a group

By david kassabian Caller-Times
August 4, 2006


Authorities have not found at least 10 suspected undocumented immigrants who fled from a pickup that skidded off Laguna Shores Road in Flour Bluff early Wednesday after a high-speed chase, a Department of Public Safety trooper said.

"I'm pretty sure these people have vanished and are already gone from the area," Trooper Alex Benavides said Thursday. "It's not a safety issue for residents - I don't think they were in any danger whatsoever. My biggest concern was (the immigrants') safety after running off the road."

A trooper first spotted the 2002 Chevrolet 2500 pickup at the Crosstown Extension and Farm-to-Market Road 43, Benavides said.

The truck eventually sped toward Flour Bluff on Yorktown Boulevard, reaching speeds up to 100 mph before turning on Laguna Shores Road and running into some brush in the 2800 block. An undocumented immigrant in the truck's bed was thrown from the vehicle and was the only person apprehended, Benavides said. He was taken to Christus Spohn Hospital Memorial, and his condition was unavailable Thursday.

At least 10 other people ran from the truck, which was suspected to be one of five vehicles traveling together, Benavides said.

"This was definitely a smuggling operation," Benavides added. "It's a constant occurrence right now. We're finding out more and more that when we try to stop these people smuggling they speed off."

Contact David Kassabian at 886-3778 or HYPERLINK mailto:kassabiand@caller.com kassabiand@caller.com