Search fatalities

Jose Lerma

Age : 67

Gender : Male

Race : Latino/a/e

Date : 11/08/2023

Location : U.S. Highway 57 near Batesville

City : Batesville

County : Zavala

State : Texas

Agency : Zavala County Sheriff’s Office; Texas Department of Public Safety

Officer(s) :Unknown

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Bystander killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

.
REASON FOR CHASE: Suspected human smuggling.
.
NARRATIVE: On 11/08/2023, 17-year-old Luiz Alfredo Mencias-Escobar, a Honduran national who was living in Houston, was killed during a Zavala County Sheriff’s Office pursuit on U.S. Highway 57 near Batesville in Zavala County. Mencias-Escobar was driving a 2009 Honda Civic carrying five passengers. Authorities said the vehicle was suspected of being used for human smuggling.
.
At approximately 6:30 a.m., Mencias-Escobar was fleeing Zavala County sheriff’s deputies eastbound on U.S. 57 when, according to Texas DPS, he attempted to pass an 18-wheeler in a no-passing zone. The Honda entered the opposing lane and collided head-on with a 2015 Chevrolet Equinox.
.
All six occupants of the Honda were killed. The two occupants of the Equinox, 67-year-old Jose Lerma and 65-year-old Isabel Lerma of Dalton, Georgia, were also killed, bringing the total death toll to eight. The Equinox caught fire following the collision.
.
Texas DPS investigated the crash. Reporting also indicates DPS Highway Patrol assisted in the pursuit, while Homeland Security Investigations investigated the alleged human-smuggling operation.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2023/11/08/7-people-killed-in-head-on-crash-near-batesville-including-human-smuggling-suspect-dps-says/
https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/migrant-crash-fundraiser-18485291.php
https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/2-georgians-among-8-killed-in-crash-in-south-texas
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-suspected-human-smuggler-crashes-dead-batesville/