EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – A three-vehicle crash in El Paso’s Upper Valley was reportedly preceded by a pursuit, and it is believed migrants were traveling in the trunk of one of the vehicles involved.

According to preliminary investigation, this morning at approximately 10:00 a.m., a DPS Trooper attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a blue Mercury Grand Marquis near Post Oak and Montoya for expired registration.

The vehicle slowed down and three subjects fled into a nearby neighborhood. The Trooper was able to apprehend the male driver and take him into custody. Upon returning to his police unit, the blue Mercury had left the scene.

A neighbor who lives in the area says he saw a person running down the street then the car fleeing.

“Coming across one of our neighbor’s yards it almost hit me as I was driving down the street. At which point I saw two other males running through our neighbor’s yards and around the corner and that sort of thing. And there was another one hiding in our neighbor’s back yard,” said Gray Waddell lives in the neighborhood.

According to DPS, they caught the person who was originally driving the car but not the other people who fled.

“It kind of makes you more aware of things that are going on in the neighborhood and that sort of thing so I made sure to check our buildings our utility buildings later on to make sure nobody was hiding,’ said Gray.

A short time later, another DPS Trooper was able to locate the suspect vehicle near Doniphan and Mesa. The blue Mercury was stopped at a gas station and then fled again once the trooper attempted to conduct a traffic stop.

The suspect vehicle then crashed with two other vehicles at the intersection of North Mesa and Osborne Drive.

According to authorities, it was then discovered several individuals were inside the trunk of the suspect vehicle. EMS was called. One patient is in critical condition and eight more patients with minor injuries were taken to a local hospital.

The female driver was identified as a U.S. citizen, 15 years of age. The passengers were turned over to Border Patrol due to being undocumented non-citizens.

Another person who lives in the neighborhood where the pursuit first began saying this isn’t the first time something like this has happened.

“I have before once the same kind of thing had happened I don’t think it was more than one person that they were looking for but they did apprehend him as well from my understanding anyway we had asked the officers that were doing it at the time,” said Michael Meza who lives in the neighborhood.

This is a developing story. Stay with KTSM for the latest developments.

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