A Bronx man was sentenced in a federal court in San Antonio to 10 years in prison for conspiracy to transport illegal aliens causing serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy, federal prosecutors announced on Thursday, Feb. 13.

 

According to court documents, a Kendall County Sheriff’s Department deputy attempted a traffic stop on July 18, 2022, when the deputy observed Peter Diaz-Vasquez, 28, of The Bronx, driving a pick-up truck at 106 mph on the I-10.

 

Prosecutors said Diaz-Vasquez led the deputy on a nine-mile pursuit, which included driving 110 mph through a 65 mph construction zone with numerous highway workers present. They said the pursuit ended when Diaz-Vasquez attempted to abruptly exit the highway, wove through traffic on the access road, and crashed over a curb into a fence. The court heard that six passengers fell out of the truck’s open bed as the truck rolled onto its side.

 

Prosecutors said Diaz-Vasquez remained buckled in the driver’s seat until he was removed by law enforcement. He had been transporting 11 undocumented non-citizens at the time of the crash, two of whom were airlifted to a hospital after sustaining serious head injuries.

 

They said each of the migrants sustained serious bodily injury to their upper and lower bodies, including broken arms and legs, as well as head trauma. The court heard that one suffered a severe spinal injury requiring endotracheal intubation and did not regain consciousness for 7-9 days, and another of the smuggled migrants was a 17-year-old juvenile.

 

They said Diaz-Vasquez admitted that he traveled from New York by plane and rented a vehicle after being hired to pick up an unknown number of undocumented non-citizens in or near Uvalde, Texas. They said that he said that he would be paid $800 per person to transport them to a location at or near San Antonio or Austin.

 

Reacting to the sentencing, U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas, said, “This case clearly highlights the extreme dangers posed by human smuggling.” Esparza added, “This defendant packed 11 passengers in his vehicle, endangering them, along with everyone on the road that day, with complete disregard for human safety. This sentence, sending Diaz-Vasquez to federal prison for 10 years, reflects the seriousness of this offense.”

 

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Kendall County Sheriff’s Department investigated the case, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Brown led the prosecution team.