Tractor-trailer found outside Wal-Mart had nearly 40 people inside; authorities don’t know where the truck began its journey
The death toll from an apparent human smuggling crime has risen to 10 after eight people were found dead in San Antonio overnight inside a sweltering tractor trailer packed with men, women and children, authorities said. Two later died in the hospital.
Twenty people who also were in the trailer were taken to area hospitals, some by helicopter, in very serious or extremely critical condition, San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood said at an early morning news conference. Another eight individuals were treated for less serious dehydration, he said. Paramedics reported that people had high heart rates and were hot to the touch, suffering from heat stroke and dehydration, he said.
“The truck was loaded with people,” Chief Hood told reporters at the news conference. A total of about 38 people were believed to be inside the truck, including “at least two school-age children,” he said. There wasn’t any additional information on their identities or countries of origin.
“We’re looking at a human-trafficking crime here,” San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said.
Police responded to an 18-wheeler parked in a Wal-Mart parking lot after a bedraggled man emerged from the vehicle and approached a store worker, demanding water. Inside the truck, police and paramedics found eight people dead, and about 28 others packed among them, Chief…