La camioneta negra en la que se desplazaba era conducida por un traficante de personas, según información preliminar.
This story was first reported by our sister station, Telemundo 20. The video above is reported in Spanish by Telemundo 20's Marinee Zavala. The original report can be seen here.
A 13-year-old boy from Michoacán, Mexico, died in a rollover crash while attempting to cross the border into the United States south of Jacumba over the weekend, Mexico officials confirmed.
The boy, identified as Darío, was traveling in a caravan of two cars in the Mexican neighborhood of Jacume, when a crash occurred sometime before 10 a.m., the Tecate Fire Department of Mexico said. Darío, accompanied by his half-brother, was in a black truck driven by a suspected human trafficker, according to preliminary information from Mexican authorities.
Video from the scene showed the pick-up truck with broken windows and the bumper destroyed by the impact of the crash.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
Mexican authorities said that U.S. responders went to the site, but the boy was unconscious, so he was transported to a U.S. hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Dario's brother remained at the scene. The suspected smuggler and any other migrants were gone when authorities arrived, according to Mexico officials.
The boy's body remains in the U.S. The Mexican Consulate in San Diego was notified and will assist to locate his family.
Local
Groups who help provide resources to migrants on their journey to the U.S. say incidents like this are all too common. The most unfortunate thing, activists say, is how human traffickers care little about the safety of these minors.
“All of them are exposing their lives, because their lives are in danger," said Humberto Wilson, in Spanish. Wilson is the Pastor of Getsemani Christian Church, which daily supports dozens of migrants who arrive in San Diego. "No one exposes their lives just for the sake of it and it is sad that a 13-year-old child has died in the hands of people who are only looking for their monetary benefit."
“By leading people to a situation of desperation, putting their lives and health at risk and, in some cases, they could find themselves in more serious situations and risk their lives,”
Adriana Jasso, a member of the committee of American friends in San Diego, said there has been an increase in attempts to cross near Jacume on the Mexico side and Jacumba on the U.S. side.
“In Jacumba the situation continues to worsen, Jasso said. "We know that there the groups are in the hundreds, around two in the afternoon, we heard that in one of the camps there were up to 300 people gathered."
The Mexico National Guard, Tecate police and firefighters and members of the Red Cross assisted in the response. The crash remains under investigation.
