A 28-year-old Mexican national died Tuesday morning after running from federal immigration agents onto a Florida highway and being struck by a tractor trailer, raising questions about enforcement tactics as similar incidents multiply nationwide.
Fatal Encounter in St. Augustine
The incident occurred around 6:40 a.m. on State Road 16 in St. Augustine during an operation by Homeland Security Investigations and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Four people fled from a vehicle during the encounter. One man ran across the highway directly into the path of an oncoming tractor trailer, according to Florida Highway Patrol Sergeant Dylan Bryan. The truck driver immediately stopped and attempted to provide assistance, but the man died at the scene.
Sara Clark Atkinson, a veterinary nurse traveling to work, witnessed the man running alongside her vehicle before he entered oncoming traffic. She joined an off-duty firefighter and another bystander in attempting to save his life, performing CPR while another person checked for a pulse using Atkinson’s stethoscope. The identity of the deceased remains unknown, and the Department of Homeland Security has not disclosed why agents initiated the encounter.
Pattern of Deadly Incidents
This death marks the third fatality involving ICE operations within eight days. On July 7, Mexican immigrant Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Houston. The following Monday, a Colombian national was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Biddeford, Maine. Officials stated neither man was the target of their respective enforcement operations. These recent deaths follow earlier incidents in 2026, including a February crash that killed a teacher when a vehicle fleeing ICE struck her car near her school.
Similar fatal incidents occurred in 2025, including a Guatemalan man killed on a Los Angeles freeway in August and a Honduran man struck on a Virginia highway in October, both while fleeing immigration enforcement. The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating Tuesday’s crash, with assistance from the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office for traffic control. Homeland Security Investigations has opened its own investigation alongside state authorities.
Community Response and Concerns
Florida state Representative Angie Nixon characterized the fatal crash as a tragedy resulting from what she called an out-of-control agency. Adriana Rivera, a spokesperson for the Florida Immigrant Coalition, stated that panic and fear drive people to run when federal agents appear in communities. The organization noted that in current circumstances, death has become a possible outcome regardless of whether individuals flee or comply with ICE. Atkinson, who attempted to save the man’s life, said the experience changed her forever and expressed relief that the man did not die alone under the truck.