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Man accused of letting migrants die in hot truck may face death penalty

The truck driver accused of smuggling at least 39 people in Texas over the weekend could face the death penalty or life in prison after 10 of the people died from being locked in the man’s unventilated trailer in 100-degree heat, prosecutors announced Monday.

One of the deadliest cases of human smuggling in the U.S. in recent memory was discovered early Sunday morning, when San Antonio police found that a truck parked outside a Walmart was stuffed with undocumented immigrants. The truck’s refrigeration system did not work, the driver, James Matthew Bradley Jr., later told investigators — and by the time police found them, at least eight people had already died from heat exposure and asphyxiation.

Another 30 people were taken to local hospitals. Two later died — including one overnight on Sunday, just hours before Bradley arrived in court Monday morning for the federal crime of smuggling illegal aliens. Under that law, smugglers can face the possibility of the death penalty if any of the people they’re transporting die.

According to the prosecutors’ complaint, Bradley told investigators that he was traveling from Laredo, Texas, to San Antonio, and he did not know that people were in his truck until he stopped at the Walmart. Once he realized there were people in his truck, he called his wife and tried to help them.

He did not dial 911. The immigrants were only discovered when one approached a Walmart employee and asked for water.

“The South Texas heat is punishing this time of year. These people were helpless in the hands of their transporters,” Richard L. Durbin Jr., the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas, said in a statement before charges were filed. “Imagine their suffering, trapped in a stifling trailer in 100-plus-degree heat.”