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F. Rojas-Garcia

Age :

Gender : Male

Race : Latino/a/e

Date : 06/17/2021

Location : Near Arizona State Route 85, north of Lukeville

City : Lukeville

County : Pima

State : Arizona

Agency : U.S. Border Patrol / U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Driver killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

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REASON FOR CHASE: A U.S. Border Patrol agent observed two people suspected of being undocumented migrants enter a vehicle along State Route 85 approximately 1½ miles north of the Lukeville Port of Entry. Approximately 20 miles farther north, another Border Patrol agent activated emergency lights and siren and attempted to stop the vehicle on suspicion that it was transporting undocumented migrants. The driver continued for approximately one mile.
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NARRATIVE:
On 06/17/2021, a U.S. Border Patrol agent observed two people enter a vehicle along Arizona State Route 85 approximately 1½ miles north of the Lukeville Port of Entry. CBP described the two occupants as suspected undocumented migrants. The first agent did not immediately stop the vehicle. Approximately 20 miles north of that location, another Border Patrol agent waiting along SR 85 activated emergency lights and siren and attempted a vehicle stop.
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The driver continued northbound for approximately one mile. A third Border Patrol agent positioned ahead of the vehicle deployed a vehicle immobilization device across SR 85. According to CBP, the driver attempted to avoid the device, lost control of the vehicle and crashed. The deployment of the Border Patrol vehicle immobilization device was therefore directly associated with the maneuver immediately preceding the fatal crash.
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A male citizen of Mexico who was one of the two suspected undocumented migrants riding in the vehicle sustained critical injuries. He was transported to Abrazo West Medical Center in Goodyear, Arizona, where he died from his injuries on 06/19/2021, two days after the crash. The available CBP and Border Oversight records do not publicly identify him by name.
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The earlier database description identifying the deceased as the driver is incorrect. CBP specifically described the deceased as F. Rojas-Garcia, one of the two undocumented migrants who had been observed entering the vehicle before the attempted stop; the available record does not establish that he was driving. The Event classification is therefore corrected from Driver killed by police chase crash to Passenger killed by police chase crash.
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Homeland Security Investigations and the Arizona Department of Public Safety investigated the incident. CBP's Office of Professional Responsibility opened a review, and the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General was notified. WOLA Border Oversight continues to classify the incident as a Border Patrol vehicle pursuit with its last known accountability status listed as shared with DHS OIG and under OPR investigation.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
At least three Border Patrol agents had distinct operational roles immediately preceding the crash: the agent who first observed the two migrants enter the vehicle, the agent approximately 20 miles north who activated emergency lights and siren and attempted the stop, and the agent who deployed the vehicle immobilization device approximately one mile later. None of these agents is identified by name in the publicly available CBP account or the Border Oversight record. Because the agents remain unidentified, no individual prior shooting, pursuit, disciplinary, complaint or civil-litigation history can be reliably attributed to the personnel involved in this incident.
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TOTAL FATALITIES/INJURIES: 1 fatality; additional occupant injury information not disclosed in the available public account.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.aclutx.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/cbp_fatal_encounters_details_-_10282021.pdf
https://borderoversight.org/event_type/vehicle-pursuit/?accountability=under-opr-investigation
https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/speeches-and-statements/failure-yield-results-death-0