A man attempting to escape from federal immigration officials and other agents lost his life on Tuesday after being hit by a tractor-trailer, authorities confirmed.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, the 28-year-old Mexican national, whose identity remains undisclosed, was one of four individuals inside a vehicle parked at a gas station in St. Augustine, Florida. The incident occurred shortly before 6:45 a.m.
As agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) confronted them, all four passengers fled on foot. During the escape, one man attempted to cross a busy roadway, where he was struck by a semitruck and tragically pronounced dead at the scene.
Officials from the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Marshals had stopped a vehicle in Washington, D.C., on August 12, 2025, for allegedly having expired tags and no driver’s license. However, during a separate incident in St. Augustine, a Mexican man was killed by a tractor-trailer while trying to evade immigration agents, as reported by authorities. (Andrew Leyden)
The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) stated, “The pedestrian was struck by the tractor-trailer in the right lane and sustained fatal injuries on scene.”
The 64-year-old truck driver stopped immediately and tried to render aid to the man, the agency said. FHP is investigating the traffic fatality.
Federal law enforcement officers with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Enforcement and Removal Operations conduct a traffic stop and detain people Nov. 17, 2025, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)
News Media has reached out to ICE for comment.
The death is the third in about a week involving people fleeing or encountering ICE agents. In Texas, a man was shot and killed after DHS said he tried to ram agents with his vehicle.
In Maine, another man was shot and killed while inside a vehicle.
In this photo provided by the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, the eastbound lanes of SR 16 between Outlet Mall Boulevard and Inman Road in St. Augustine, Fla., are shutdown after a fatal collision. (St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
Hours after the incident Tuesday, the Trump administration instructed ICE agents to temporarily halt most vehicle stops nationwide, marking a major policy shift.