Driver sentenced for 'blowing' through US border checkpoint, injuring agent
A driver who blew through a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint, severely injuring an agent, was sentenced on Friday to 30 months in prison, federal prosecutors announced.
Video of the November 2017 incident shows Jorge Garcia-Osornio's car barreling through the Pine Valley, California, checkpoint and smashing a steel-framed stop sign as the agent jumps out of the way.
The agent was struck by debris flying from the sign and, according to prosecutors, "likened the blow to being 'hit with a baseball bat."
Garcia-Osornio was allegedly transporting two undocumented immigrants when he crashed through the checkpoint and led other Border Patrol agents on a 100 mph chase, according to a press release by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California.
Garcia-Osornio, 28, of Michoacán, Mexico, pleaded guilty to transporting certain aliens. He claimed that he was going to be paid $1,400 to $2,000 for hiding the undocumented immigrants on the floor of his sedan, according to the press release.
“This defendant had no regard for the safety of his passengers, other drivers on the freeway or agents at the checkpoint,” Adam Braverman, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California, said in a statement. “It’s a miracle no one died in this incident. Smugglers operate in a world where immigrants are just dollar signs, not people.”
