A tragic incident occurred in Florida when a man fleeing from an encounter with immigration officials was struck and killed by a tractor trailer. This marks the third death in a week involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, following similar incidents in Texas and Maine.
The 28-year-old victim was part of a group of four individuals in a vehicle that stopped at a gas station in the St. Augustine area. As agents from ICE and Homeland Security Investigations approached, the individuals attempted to flee on foot. One of them ran across a busy road and tragically into the path of an oncoming semi, according to Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Dylan Bryan.
The driver of the tractor trailer stopped and attempted to assist the victim, but the man succumbed to his injuries. This incident represents at least the tenth death linked to encounters with immigration agents since the commencement of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign.
The Department of Homeland Security acknowledged conducting an operation in Florida and confirmed it was investigating the death of the Mexican national alongside the Florida Highway Patrol. However, details regarding the circumstances leading to the encounter remain unclear. The department has not provided information regarding the status of the other three individuals involved.
State Representative Angie Nixon, a Democrat from Jacksonville, publicly condemned the incident, describing it as a tragic outcome of an aggressive agency. Nixon highlighted similar fatal encounters, such as the shooting of a father in Houston and a young man in Maine, and now this incident in Northeast Florida, resulting in fear, chaos, and loss of life.
In other related situations, individuals fleeing immigration agents met similar fates. Last summer, a man fleeing from officers in southern California was killed after being hit by an SUV while attempting to cross a freeway. Authorities clarified that Roberto Carlos Montoya Valdez, who was 52 and from Guatemala, was not being directly pursued when he was struck.
In another case, a pickup truck fatally hit Josué Castro Rivera, a 24-year-old gardener from Honduras, on a Virginia highway during a traffic stop. Authorities stated that Castro Rivera’s vehicle was stopped as part of a specialized operation, and he fled after resisting heavily.
On Tuesday, the Mexican government urged U.S. state attorneys general to investigate the deaths of migrants in ICE custody or during raids for potential criminal prosecution.
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