Three Dead After Border Patrol Uses Spike Strip on Pickup Fleeing at High Speeds

Three people were killed and eight injured Thursday after Border Patrol agents in Southern California deployed a spike strip on a pickup truck that veered onto an embankment and rolled, ejecting people from the vehicle. Border Patrol agents near Boulevard, California, gave chase to a Chevrolet Silverado pickup that had two people in the cab and nine in the bed. The agents used the spike strip when the vehicle was traveling at an “extremely high rate of speed” on a two-lane interstate. “It was spike-stripped by the Border Patrol, continued westbound, went up a dirt and rock embankment and rolled, ejecting either nine or 10 people out of the vehicle,” said California Highway Patrol spokesman Officer Travis Garrow. Witnesses reported the pickup was weaving in and out of traffic at speeds of more than 100 mph. Three were killed, according to Cal Fire San Diego, while three sustained major injuries and five others suffered minor injuries. The ages and immigration statuses of the victims are not yet known.