Man in Florida killed by truck while fleeing ICE agents

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A man was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer in St. Augustine, Fla., on Tuesday following an incident involving federal immigration officers.

Four people inside a car at a Wawa gas station ran off on foot following “an encounter” with Homeland Security Investigations and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in a parking lot at around 6:42 a.m., Florida Highway Patrol spokesperson Sgt. Dylan Bryan told NewsNation, The Hill’s sister network.

One of the people inside the vehicle ran across Florida State Road 16 “and into the path of the tractor trailer,” Bryan said. The person was struck by the vehicle and later died after the tractor-trailer’s driver stopped and attempted to render aid.

Bryan added that the investigation into the incident remains ongoing.

The Department of Homeland Security told NewsNation that it conducted “an operation” near St. Johns, Fla., and that an incident involving the death of a Mexican national was under investigation.

It is unclear what happened to the three others who were in the vehicle prior to the incident. The vehicle was taken away as part of the investigation, Bryan told The New York Times.

The incident marks the third death in an incident involving ICE since July 7.

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, an undocumented migrant from Mexico and a father of three U.S. citizens, was killed by ICE officers at a traffic stop in Houston, Texas, last Tuesday. An ICE spokesperson previously told The Hill that Araujo “attempted to evade arrest.”

Araujo’s death has sparked protests and outcry from critics against ICE and its tactics.

On Monday, ICE officers conducted “targeted surveillance on the last known address” of a migrant without legal status in Biddeford, Maine, before officers shot and killed Joan Sebastian Guerrero. ICE acknowledged the shooting 12 hours later, saying Guerrero fled the scene, which caused a “public safety threat,” prompting the officers to fire.

Sources confirmed to NewsNation on Tuesday that ICE has privately directed its officers to temporarily pause traffic stops following these first two incidents. But ICE declined to confirm what would represent a major shift in their tactics.

“We are always evaluating our procedures to keep our officers safe and criminals off our streets. We will not disclose or discuss law enforcement tactics,” ICE previously told The Hill in a statement.

Former ICE acting director John Sandweg told CNN on Tuesday that the agency needed to pause its traffic stops and take “a hard look, if not a moratorium on vehicular stops, until such time as we can decide…. what do we need to do to prevent this from recurring.”

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