A 28-year-old Mexican national was fatally struck by a tractor-trailer on a Florida highway Tuesday morning while attempting to evade U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. The incident occurred around 7 a.m. near State Road 16 in St. Johns.
According to Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Dylan Bryan, the man and three other individuals encountered ICE agents at a Wawa gas station. The group fled, with the victim attempting to cross State Road 16, where he was hit by a truck. The truck driver attempted to render aid but was unsuccessful.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that law enforcement conducted an operation in the area on July 14 and that the Florida Highway Patrol and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) are investigating the death. The immigration status of the victim was unclear at the time of the report.
This is the third death reported involving immigration agents in July. On July 7, an undocumented migrant from Mexico, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, died in Houston, Texas, during a traffic stop. ICE stated that he rammed his van into an agent's vehicle and refused verbal commands before an agent fired.
On Monday, July 15, Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a 26-year-old Colombian national, was fatally shot by ICE agents in Biddeford, Maine. ICE agents were conducting surveillance on a residence for an individual with a final order of removal when Guerrero, who was driving the vehicle, allegedly accelerated toward them. An ICE agent fired shots through the windshield, striking Guerrero, who died from his injuries. Senator Angus King of Maine was informed by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin that Guerrero was not the target of the operation. Witnesses described the shooting unfolding in front of Guerrero's family.