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Name Not Disclosed

Age :

Gender : Male

Race : Latino/a/e

Date : 08/03/2021

Location : New Mexico State Road 185 approximately three miles north of the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint

City : Las Cruces

County : Doña Ana

State : New Mexico

Agency : U.S. Border Patrol

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Passenger killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

Checkpoint evasion. A U.S. Border Patrol agent assigned to the Las Cruces station began following the SUV in which the deceased man was riding approximately six miles south of the Border Patrol checkpoint on New Mexico State Road 185. The agent initially followed without emergency equipment activated. After the driver circumvented the checkpoint by entering the southbound lanes and continuing north, the agent activated emergency equipment and attempted to stop the SUV. A second Border Patrol unit joined the pursuit.

EVENT NARRATIVE:
On 08/03/2021, an unidentified male citizen of Ecuador was fatally injured while riding as a passenger in an SUV pursued by U.S. Border Patrol agents on New Mexico State Road 185 north of Las Cruces. The driver, 25-year-old Erik A. Molix, was critically injured and died 12 days later. Eight other passengers were hospitalized.

The passenger was one of nine migrants traveling in the SUV. Border Patrol agents pursued the vehicle after its driver circumvented the immigration checkpoint on State Road 185. The pursuit reached speeds of approximately 73 mph.

Approximately three miles north of the checkpoint, the SUV went out of control and overturned, ejecting several passengers. CBP initially stated only that the driver lost control while evading Border Patrol. Later records established that a Border Patrol vehicle made contact with the SUV immediately before it overturned.

Surviving passenger Lesvin Gámez later alleged that agents struck the SUV from behind and then struck it again before the rollover. Gámez said Border Patrol never subsequently contacted him to obtain his account of the pursuit. His account directly challenged the original CBP description of the crash.

The Ecuadorian passenger suffered catastrophic injuries and died. Eight other passengers were hospitalized. Molix survived for another 12 days before dying from his injuries.

Border Patrol's Critical Incident Team arrived shortly after the crash and took a central role in collecting evidence and investigating the actions of Border Patrol personnel. The ACLU later obtained the CIT report and identified significant inconsistencies concerning pursuit distance, following distance, activation of lights and sirens, possible spike-strip use and the circumstances immediately preceding the rollover.

The deceased passenger's full name has not been publicly established in the sources located for this reconstruction. CBP identified him only as a male citizen of Ecuador. His unidentified status prevents reliable information about his family, occupation and life before his death from being included.

OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The Border Patrol agents who initiated and participated in the pursuit, including the agent driving the Border Patrol vehicle that made contact with the SUV, have not been publicly identified in the available unredacted records. Border Patrol's own Critical Incident Team played a central role in investigating the fatal incident, a practice subsequently challenged by the ACLU because of the conflict created when Border Patrol personnel investigated incidents involving fellow Border Patrol agents.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://borderoversight.org/event/august-3-2021/
https://www.aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/border-patrol-is-investigating-itself-following-deaths-report-reveals
https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/aclu-demands-customs-and-border-protection-investigate-recent-deadly-vehicle-pursuit
https://www.aclutx.org/sites/default/files/aclu_letter_to_cbp_re_las_cruces_vehicle_pursuit.pdf
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/09/us/politics/border-patrol-migrant-deaths.html
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22016802-us_cbp_final_report_redacted
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2022/12/12/the-cover-up-teams-operating-on-the-us-border