At least 10 dead when pickup truck carrying migrants from US-Mexico border crashes near Encino, Texas

An overcrowded van full of migrants crashed near Encino, Texas on Wednesday, killing 10 people as it headed north on US Highway 281, about 80 miles north of McAllen and the border Texas-Mexico.

According to a preliminary investigation by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), the driver of a Ford van was traveling at high speed in the outer lane when he attempted to turn right while deviating from the roadway. A witness told Texas DPS that the driver struck a metal pole and a stop sign. The driver and nine passengers were pronounced dead at the scene, according to Texas DPS.

At least 30 people were traveling inside the van at the time of the crash, according to the Brooks County Sheriff’s Office. Twenty people were injured and were transported to five hospitals in the Rio Grande Valley region.

Sheriff Benny Martinez told CBS News the van was carrying migrants from the US-Mexico border.

Officers from the U.S. Border Patrol Tactical Unit, known as BORTAC, first responded to the scene and assisted victims of the crash, according to Texas DPS.

In March, 13 people crammed into an SUV traveling from Mexico to southern California died after colliding with a semi-truck. Federal prosecutors have charged a 47-year-old US resident with transporting unauthorized people into the country.

A 24-year-old Texas man was charged with “illegal alien transport resulting in death” after eight people died in a head-on collision in southwest Texas weeks later.

Grace Samuelson contributed to this report.