18-Wheeler hits bus transporting ICE detainees; 9 injured

A crash in South Texas involving an 18-wheeler and a bus transporting detained undocumented immigrants by ICE has left nine detainees injured, according to officials.

Authorities responded at 7:30 a.m. on Friday to a major traffic collision between an 18-wheeler and a bus in the 4400 block of US 77 South in Victoria, Texas, according to the Victoria County Sheriff’s Office (VCSO). The bus was carrying 19 immigration detainees and three private guards from the GEO Group.

“Of the 19 detainees, nine were transported by EMS to DeTar and Citizens Medical Center,” said the VCSO. “The remaining 10 were transported to the Victoria County Sheriff’s Office and held until the GEO Group sent a transport bus to pick them up.”

Eight of the injured ICE detainees have since been released from the hospital, according to journalist Gage Goulding of KPRC2. One detainee remains hospitalized and is awaiting surgery after suffering two broken legs and a broken nose.

Goulding reported that the collision occurred after the bus driver carrying the ICE detainees abruptly slammed the brakes after missing an exit, causing the vehicle to be struck by the 18-wheeler. The Texas Department of Public Safety is investigating the crash.