6 killed, 7 injured during Texas police chase

EDNA, Texas — A police chase in south Texas ended Thursday when the SUV carrying at least 15 people rolled over, killing at least six people and injuring seven others.

Police started chasing the people in the SUV after an alleged traffic violation. The driver refused to stop and led authorities to the Edna area, about 90 miles southwest of Houston.

As the vehicle veered onto Highway 59, the driver seemed to over-correct and the SUV flipped several times, police said.

Police are trying to determine who was driving the 2003 Ford Explorer when it crashed. Two people who fled the scene were taken into custody after a search, police Chief Clinton Wooldridge said.

Authorities are trying to identify the victims, some of whom came from Honduras and Guatemala, Wooldridge said. He had no information on their legal status, but said the vehicle seemed to have been adapted to fit in many passengers, hinting at the possibility of a human-trafficking operation.

Police said the back seats of the SUV were folded down and removed so more people could fit inside the vehicle.

"Officers noted that the rear seat in the vehicle had been folded down and the middle seat had previously been removed, apparently to create more room in the vehicle," Wooldridge said.

“It was a horrible crash,” said Department of Public Safety Trooper Ruben San Miguel. “The condition of the people ejected obviously not wearing safety belts.”

Also, “the most difficult part of this is if they're not U.S. citizens and have no ID,” San Miguel said, “we have to start the investigation of how to track these people down.”

Four people died at the scene and two more died at hospitals, he said. Seven others were hospitalized, but no information was released on their conditions.

Contributing: The Associated Press.