Death by Cop  2022-2024

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Jose Lerma 1 of 8

Gender : Male

Age :

Race : Latino/a/e

Date : 11/08/2023

Location : Highway 57

City : Batesville

County : Zavala

State : Texas

Agency : DPS Highway Patrol

Officer(s) :Unknown

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Third party motorist killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

Jose Lerma and his wife Isabel were on the road in Batesville, TX when DPS hunted a car full of migrants into their vehicle, killing both Jose and his wife.

Texas DPS Highway patrol saw a “suspicious vehicle” and tried to traffic-stop it. The vehicle did not stop and police escalated a chase that ended when the fleeing vehicle hit another vehicle head-on. A total of eight people were killed including the driver, 5 migrants and 2 third party motorists in the vehicle that was hit head-on.

The Lerma family has a GoFundMe to help their son with burial costs for both parents. The GFM is here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/funeral-services-for-jose-isabel-lerma

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.breitbart.com/border/2023/11/08/exclusive-eight-dead-in-texas-after-human-smuggling-pursuit-ends-in-crash/

https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/law-enforcement/son-struggles-to-bury-parents-killed-in-crash-suspected-human-smuggler-pursued-by-law-enforcement/273-00f91d7d-efbf-41dd-b54f-8972c1481fa0