Human trafficking case: ten immigrants dead

SAN ANTONIO, TX — The death roll mounted to 10 in the case of a broiling tractor-trailer found packed with immigrants even as a suspect in the smuggling case awaited a court appearance.

Federal prosecutors said they planned to bring charges against James Bradley Jr., 60, of Clearwater, Florida. The driver of the rig was arrested.

Authorities discovered eight bodies inside the crowded 18-wheeler parked outside a Walmart in the summer heat, and two more victims died at hospital.

Officials feared the toll could rise because nearly 20 others rescued from the truck were in dire conditions like extreme dehydration and heatstroke.

"We’re looking at a human-trafficking crime," San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said on July 23, calling it "a horrific tragedy."

Authorities said the tractor-trailer had no working air conditioning.

The victims "were very hot to the touch. So these people were in this trailer without any signs of any type of water," Fire Chief Charles Hood said.

More than a hundered people may have been packed into the back of the truck at one point in its journey, said Thomas Homan, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Officials said 39 people were inside when rescuers arrived, and the rest were believed to have escaped or hitched rides to their next destination.

At least some of those in the truck were from Mexico and Guatemala, according to diplomats from the two countries. Four of the survivors appeared to be between 10 and 17 years old.

The truck had an Iowa license plate and was registered to Pyle Transportation Inc. of Schaller, Iowa.

The tragedy came to light after a person from the truck approached a Walmart employee and asked for water late on early July 23 morning, said McManus, the police chief. The employee gave the person water and then called the police.