I was not aware that the air condition of the vehicle had stopped working, said Homero Zamorano, the driver of the truck, in which 53 dead bodies were found in Texas.
According to court documents, after the truck was found, the 45-year-old sent several text messages to alleged conspirator Christian Martínez. If found guilty of smuggling and conspiracy charges, both suspects face the death penalty.
Governor Greg Abbott had blamed US President Joe Biden for the deadliest human trafficking incident in the country’s history.
After surveillance photos showed Zamorano driving the truck past a US Border Patrol checkpoint in Laredo, he was arrested as he initially tried to pass himself off as one of the survivors of the accident.
In the accident, 27 Mexican citizens, as well as 14 Hondurans, seven Guatemalans, and two Salvadorans were involved.
Bexar County Sheriff’s office posted on Facebook that “Preliminarily, it appears no individuals have suffered any major injuries.”
Just a few miles north of where the first vehicle was found, the sheriff’s office began investigating an apparently abandoned 18-wheel truck found in a residential area.
A record 239,000 undocumented migrants were detained crossing into the country from Mexico in May.