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Name Not Disclosed

Age :

Gender : Female

Race : Latino/a/e

Date : 08/09/2024

Location : Intersection of Wedgeford Road and Ruby Road

City : Arivaca

County : Pima

State : Arizona

Agency : U.S. Border Patrol (CBP)

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Passenger killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/09/2024, an unidentified woman was killed when a Chevrolet Tahoe carrying her and other migrants crashed and rolled near Arivaca while U.S. Border Patrol agents pursued the vehicle. Seven passengers were being transported in the Tahoe, and all seven were ejected during the crash. Federal prosecutors later confirmed that one woman died and three other passengers suffered serious injuries.
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The encounter began when Border Patrol personnel received information about a gold Chevrolet Tahoe traveling south on Ruby Road that was suspected of being used to transport migrants. Agents determined that the license plate displayed on the Tahoe did not match the vehicle's registration and began following and coordinating an attempted stop.
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Border Patrol agents located the Tahoe near Arivaca, approximately five miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. Agents activated their emergency equipment to stop the vehicle based on their suspicion that its driver was engaged in human smuggling and the mismatched/fake license plate. The driver continued driving and Border Patrol pursued. Federal prosecutors subsequently identified the driver as 18-year-old Samuel Lopez-Ozuna.
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The pursuit ended almost immediately when Lopez-Ozuna lost control of the Tahoe. The vehicle left the roadway and rolled, ejecting all seven passengers. One woman was killed and three other passengers suffered serious injuries. Lopez-Ozuna was also injured.
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The subsequent investigation produced both state and federal criminal cases against Lopez-Ozuna. A federal grand jury indicted him in September 2024 on human-smuggling charges resulting in death and serious injury. Pima County separately prosecuted him for first-degree murder, unlawful flight from law enforcement and aggravated assault arising from the same pursuit and crash.
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Lopez-Ozuna ultimately pleaded guilty in federal court to transportation of undocumented people for profit resulting in death. On 03/10/2026, U.S. District Judge Angela M. Martinez sentenced him to 10 years in federal prison.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND
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The individual U.S. Border Patrol agents who initiated and participated in the pursuit have not been publicly identified.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://tucson.com/news/local/border-patrol-tucson-arivaca-crash-arizona/article_dc21563a-5bfc-11ef-be53-efac410a5ded.html
https://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/081524-border-patrol-fatal-crash/
https://www.justice.gov/usao-az/pr/tucson-man-indicted-deadly-human-smuggling-related-crash-near-arivaca
https://www.justice.gov/usao-az/pr/tucson-man-sentenced-10-years-deadly-human-smuggling-related-crash-near-arivaca