JUMAL, Calif. (KGTV) -- One man was arrested Tuesday night during a foiled human smuggling attempt in East County, according to the U.S. Border Patrol.
On Tuesday, Feb. 23, at about 9:30 p.m., Border Patrol Agents said a 24-year-old male U.S. citizen in a Chevy Tahoe approached the Highway 94 checkpoint in Jamul. In the front passenger seat was a 17-year-old male.
Agents said right before they approached the driver; he sped away from the checkpoint. Agents pursued the Chevy Tahoe until the driver came to an abrupt stop on the westbound lanes on Highway 94 near Lyons Valley Road. Agents said the driver sped off again at a high rate of speed, colliding with a USBP vehicle and two other civilian cars.
When Agents went over to detain the driver, they found 10 Mexican nationals inside the SUV illegally present in the U.S.
The driver, juvenile passenger, one undocumented migrant, and four Border Patrol agents were injured during the pursuit and taken to area hospitals where they were treated for minor injuries. They were later released from the hospital.
Border Patrol seized the Chevy Tahoe, and the driver will remain in federal custody pending multiple criminal charges.
