(Photo by David McNew/Getty Images) (2009 Getty Images)
An SUV crammed with 13 suspected undocumented immigrants plunged into a stock pond Thursday morning during a police chase, killing three young men on board.
A sheriff’s deputy tried to pull the Chevy Tahoe over at about 2 a.m. because one of the headlights was out, police said.
Wilson County Sheriff Joe D. Tackitt Jr. called the incident “very tragic” in a press briefing at the scene, My San Antonio reported.
After the car sped away for a mile, Tackitt said the Tahoe left the road and cut across ranch land before landing in the pond.
By the time the deputy finally caught up, three of the passengers were already on top of the submerged vehicle. Six others from the vehicle were detained along a nearby country road after sunrise.
Autopsies have been ordered to be done on the deceased. The driver faces possible manslaughter chargers, Tackitt said.
Authorities do not have details yet on the origin, destination, or owner of the vehicle.
The survivors, including one woman, are believed to be undocumented immigrants from Guatemala.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have taken them into custody for questioning.
Follow us on twitter.com/foxnewslatino
Like us at facebook.com/foxnewslatino
Fox News' "Antisemitism Exposed" newsletter brings you stories on the rising anti-Jewish prejudice across the U.S. and the world.