A Border Patrol Agent was critically injured after a motorcyclist suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol slammed into a protective vehicle barricade at a highway inspection station. The motorcycle and driver were sent flying into the air during the crash. The agent was injured after being struck in the chest and head by the motorcycle. The accident occurred late Saturday evening just north of Tombstone, Arizona.
A source within CBP told Breitbart Texas the driver appeared to be extremely intoxicated. The checkpoint is located near the intersection of Arizona State Route 80 and Arizona State Route 82 north of Tombstone. According to the source, the driver was released from a Tucson hospital and is now in custody facing charges related to the accident. The accident is being investigated by the Tombstone Marshal’s Department and the FBI.
According to the source, the agent remains hospitalized in serious but stable condition. The Border Patrol operates numerous highway checkpoints as part of an in-depth, layered strategy. Although an effective means of detecting human smuggling and a host of other crimes related to border security, the checkpoints can prove dangerous to the agents on duty.
Inattentive motorists failing to adhere to warning signs, traffic cones, and lights cautioning drivers to slow and stop for inspection have injured agents and other motorists alike. In December 2021, a Border Patrol agent working at a checkpoint near Temecula, California, was hospitalized after being struck by a suspected drunk driver. In that accident, the driver continued driving for nearly one mile after impact.
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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