Two U.S. Border Patrol agents in southern Arizona were killed in the line of duty after a freight train struck the SUV they were traveling in, reported national correspondent Andy Ramirez of the Liberty News Network. (Watch video below.)
Agents Eduardo Rojas, Jr. and Hector Clark were on patrol about 85 miles southwest of Phoenix in the early hours of May 12. They were reportedly working with other agents in the area to track and apprehend some suspected illegal immigrants when the accident occurred.
The Union Pacific train, carrying more than seven dozen freight cars, slammed into the agents’ unmarked truck at over 50 mph, pushing the vehicle for over a quarter of a mile. The crossing was marked but there were no railroad crossing arms.
Local authorities and the FBI were investigating. But Ramirez said LNN sources did not believe there was any foul play involved in the incident — it appears to have been a tragic accident.
Rojas, a Border Patrol agent since 2000, leaves behind a wife and two children. Ten-year border veteran Clark is also survived by his wife and two children.
“We here at the Liberty News Network want to express our deepest sorrows, prayers and condolences to the family and to the fellow agents throughout the Border Patrol,” Ramirez said. “This is just one of those continuing tragedies that happen as we, again, know that agents are trying to do their job and secure America’s borders.”
Andy Ramirez is the founder and president of the Law Enforcement Officers Advocates Council, as well as founder and president of Friends of the Border Patrol. Liberty News Network is an affiliated news group of The John Birch Society.
