In San Antonio, Texas, truck driver James Matthew Bradley Jr. appeared in court and was charged with transporting undocumented immigrants for the purpose of private financial gain—after dozens of undocumented immigrants were discovered packed into the back of a sweltering tractor trailer he had been driving. When the group of migrants was discovered in a Wal-Mart parking lot in San Antonio, eight men were already dead. Two more men died later, and 29 remain hospitalized. Authorities say they are investigating it as a human trafficking case.
Survivors say as many as 200 people were sandwiched into the back of the truck at times during the deadly journey and that the truck’s cooling system was broken. As the temperature soared in the back of the truck, survivors say they banged on the walls to try to get the driver’s attention, but the truck did not stop. Migrants began to pass out and then die from asphyxiation and heat exposure. The youngest victims were just 15 years old.
The truck driver claims he was unaware that people were packed into the back of his his tractor-trailer until he parked outside the Wal-Mart to use the bathroom and heard loud banging noises. If convicted, Bradley could face the death penalty or life in prison. We’ll go to San Antonio for more on the story after headlines with Eddie Canales, director of the South Texas Human Rights Center. We’ll also speak to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Sonia Nazario.