6 killed, 7 hurt in police chase

EDNA, Texas -- An SUV crammed with at least 15 people rolled during a police chase in South Texas early Thursday, leaving six people dead and seven more injured, police said.

Police are trying to determine who was driving the 2003 Ford Explorer when it crashed. Two people who ran from the scene were caught and detained, 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 many passengers, hinting at the possibility of a trafficking operation.

"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.

Wooldridge said the two people who ran are in the custody of immigration officials. Five patients who were treated at Jackson County Hospital in Edna have been released to the custody of U.S. Border Patrol agents, hospital spokeswoman Donna Coleman said. She said two others are at a hospital in nearby Victoria.

Officers tried to stop the SUV for a traffic violation, but the vehicle sped away, and police gave chase. As the vehicle veered onto Highway 59, the driver seemed to overcorrect, and the SUV flipped several times, police said.