By Associated Press - Friday, May 16, 2014

LA JOYA, Texas (AP) - A South Texas justice of the peace says one woman has died and several others have been injured severely in the crash of a vehicle pursued by police near the Texas-Mexico border.

Hidalgo County Justice of the Peace Ismael Ochoa says an unidentified female passenger inside the sport utility vehicle died in the rollover crash Friday. He said La Joya police were pursuing the vehicle, which they estimated held about 15 people, when it crashed.

La Joya police declined comment. The Border Patrol was assisting the search.



Groups of immigrants are picked up regularly near the Rio Grande and transported to stash houses, where they’re held before their release for the journey north.

Police chases of vehicles overloaded with people often steered by young, inexperienced drivers often end fatally.

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