Federal prosecutors have charged a man accused of driving an SUV loaded with nearly 20 people in the country illegally that rolled over Sunday and sent seven people, including the suspect, to the hospital.
Bladamir Sampayo-Santiago, a Mexican citizen, was scheduled to make a first appearance in McAllen federal court Thursday but that hearing will be rescheduled because Sampayo is not medically cleared, court records indicate.
The crash occurred at around 7:30 p.m. Sunday near Garciasville in an area Border Patrol says is frequently exploited by drug smugglers.
Agents responded there after a remote surveillance camera operator spotted the SUV in the area driving north from the river at a high rate of speed before turning back south, according to a criminal complaint.
“Subsequently, the camera operator relayed the vehicle had driven off a berm,” the complaint stated. “Once agents arrived on scene, they observed the vehicle had rolled over.”
EMS transported seven people to the hospital while the remaining 11 were taken to the Rio Grande City station for processing.
On Monday, one person who was released from the hospital told agents interviewing him that he and several others pulled the driver, who this person identified, from the vehicle, according to the complaint.
Border Patrol spoke with Sampayo on Monday, who said he had recently entered the U.S. and was staying in La Casita where he was offered about $1,000 to learn the area and be a “co-pilot” to a driver in a smuggling attempt, according to the complaint.
The day of the crash, Sampayo said they picked up a white SUV with a “cross” emblem from a warehouse and was given a phone to communicate with other scouts and alert the driver if authorities were nearby, Border Patrol said.
“Sampayo mentioned that approximately twenty (20) people loaded the SUV. Once Sampayo was alerted via phone that immigration was nearby, he relayed the information to the driver,” the complaint stated.
The driver then accelerated to a high rate of speed toward the river before the crash.
“Some of the non-citizens in the SUV helped Sampayo get out since he was pinned in the vehicle,” the complaint stated.
He is charged with transporting 18 people in the country illegally.
