Migrant woman zipped in duffle bag is saved from fiery wreck after smugglers crashed near Texas border
Bodycam footage shows officers pulling out a black bag from the car from which a woman emerges
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A woman zipped inside a duffle bag to be trafficked across border had a narrow escape as patrol agents pulled her out of a fiery wreck after the car smugglers were using crashed.
The incident took place near Laredo, Texas, when personnel of Texas troopers and Border Patrol joined forces to rescue the migrant woman who was abandoned in the burning vehicle while she was zipped inside a duffle bag.
The search teams were tracing a vehicle that started from the Webb County and ended in La Salle County, eventually crashing and igniting as the smugglers abandoned the car and the woman inside it.
Dramatic footage from the bodycam of one of the officers, shared by the Texas Department of Public Safety South Texas Region on Friday, shows law-enforcement officers moving towards a burning SUV with dark clouds of smoke in the air.
The footage also shows patches of dry grass nearby catching fire with the SUV as three officers tried to pull out a black bag from the trunk of the vehicle.
One of the officers can be heard saying, “She’s in the bag. There’s a female in the bag.”
One of the officers, identified as Sergeant Genaro Hinojosa, moved towards the vehicle and broke the rear window as they unzipped the bag after which a woman in blue jeans and black sweatshirt emerged out of it, panting and shivering in fear.
“@TxDPS continues to combat human smugglers who choose profit over public safety,” the department wrote on Twitter sharing the image of the woman rescued. “Great example of teamwork among our partners - USBP & Encinal PD2/2 #OperationLoneStar”
While the smuggler initially left the crashed car and fled from the crime scene, the video showed that he was later arrested.
The collaborative effort between the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texan army has led to more than 2,25,000 migrant arrests and the apprehension of over 13,027 criminals, according to the office of the Texas governor.