EAGLE PASS, Texas — Members of a Honduran migrant family suffered severe injuries after falling from a moving freight train. Three of the four family members lost limbs. A Maverick County Sheriff deputy came across the grizzly scene and summoned medical personnel to assist on Tuesday.
A 32-year-old man’s arm was severed above the right wrist after falling under a moving train. The man’s one year old child was injured as the wheels severed a finger. The man’s wife suffered a leg amputation. According to a Border Patrol report, the family members were not placed into custody at the accident scene due to the severity of the injuries. The family’s other child was uninjured.
Four unrelated migrants, later arrested by the Border Patrol, provided first aid to the family until law enforcement arrived. The family was transferred to a hospital in San Antonio, Texas, for advanced care.
Freight trains are notoriously unfriendly to stowaways. Accidents and fatalities can occur when migrants are struck, crushed by shifting cargo, suffocated, or overexposed. As reported by Breitbart Texas, law enforcement authorities across the southwest border are routinely encountering migrants using the freight trains to leave the immediate border area.
With the ongoing surge in border crossings and accompanying burdens of providing humanitarian aid, fewer agents are available to conduct train inspections. The staffing challenges preclude the Border Patrol from conducting routine freight train inspections at rail yards. The task mostly falls to local and state law enforcement authorities as a result.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX.
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