Illegal immigrants found in stolen truck

12:31 PM CDT on Saturday, August 16, 2008

KHOU.com staff report

HOUSTON – A police chase ended with a surprise arrest when they found a number of illegal immigrants hiding in the back of a truck.

The incident occurred Friday around 10:30 p.m. when police noticed a stolen Ford F250 travelling on the Southwest Freeway. HPD signaled for the driver to pull over, but instead of stopping, the truck picked up speed and took off.

A number of police cruisers chased the stolen Ford F250 down Southwest Freeway. The chase continued until Highway 59 at South Main. As the truck approached the 288 interchange, the driver veered off the road and drove down the grass embankment in an attempt to get away.

He ended up crashing into an apartment fence.

The driver, front seat passenger and a few other passengers jumped out and ran. A couple officers chased after these men. But as the remaining officers approached the truck, they discovered several more people in the back seat.

They also noticed movement in the back bed where a mattress was laying flat. They lifted the mattress and found several more people under the mattress.

There were a total of 13 people in the truck. Apparently, the driver and front seat passenger were transporting illegal immigrants.

Police also found cocaine on the driver.