Texas man facing federal charges over car crash that killed eight migrants

A Texas man is facing federal charges in connection to a car crash that killed eight immigrants, authorities announced on Wednesday.

Sebastian Tovar, 24, of Austin, was charged with transporting illegal aliens resulting in death. He is in federal custody, and faces up to life in prison upon conviction, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of Texas.

The federal complaints alleges that Tovar was traveling in a maroon pickup truck on a high way near the city of Del Rio, when a Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper attempted to stop him from speeding.

Tovar refused to stop and a pursuit ensued, authorities said. He led the trooper on a chase for 50 miles and reached speeds of up to 100 miles per hour, according to the complaint.

The complaint says that Tovar collided with another vehicle head-on as he was traveling northbound in the southbound lane on Highway 277, resulting in the death of eight migrants that were in Tovar’s pickup truck.

The driver and passenger of the car that Tovar crashed are in the hospital in stable condition. 

The complaint also alleges that following the crash, Border Patrol agents encountered a beige pickup truck that was stopped in traffic near the site. Multiple occupants jumped out of the truck as agents were directing traffic.

Agents apprehended twelve migrants that fled the truck. Two of them, who were Mexican citizens, confirmed that they were part of a failed human smuggling attempt in which a group of immigrants divided between the two pickup trucks attempted to cross the border.

Texas authorities said Wednesday they believed the people were between the ages of 18 and 20. Seven were men and one was a woman.