It’s time for a Texas trucker to confess to his crimes. The truck driver was driving a tractor-trailer carrying 63 migrants who were suffering inside. There was no air conditioning, and 53 people died as a result of the extreme heat.
Texas truck driver pleads guilty to killing 53 migrants
Homero Zamoranor Jr., 48, faces life in prison. He pleaded guilty to a mass casualty incident that killed 53 people in San Antonio.
He was driving a tractor-trailer used to smuggle 63 migrants, including children, over the border. According to KSAT, the group traveled along Interstate 35.
The semi-truck then came to a stop in the 9600 block of Quintana Road. The migrants were left in the Texas heat, with no ventilation, air conditioning, or water. As a result, 74 adults and six children died of their injuries.
According to reports, Zamorano and two other men charged in the case were aware that the trailer’s air conditioning unit was broken.
They know it won’t provide cool air to migrants trapped inside during the three-hour journey from Laredo to San Antonio. Temperatures hovered around 100 degrees as migrants screamed for help and knocked on the trailer’s walls.
Each migrant paid up to $15,000 to be transported across the border. Migrants were forced to give up their cellphones before entering the trailer, leaving them unable to call for help. Additionally, an unknown powder was used around the trailer to prevent patrol dogs from detecting their scent.
The incident occurred after police officers detained Zamorano. He was hiding in a nearby bush, and his phone was full of suspicious calls about the smuggling operation.
