ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – The Department of Homeland Security shared a brief update Wednesday morning after an operation in St. Johns County turned deadly on Tuesday.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a 28-year-old man who ran from ICE agents around 6:45 a.m. Tuesday crossed into the path of a tractor-trailer on State Road 16 and was killed.
A DHS spokesperson released this statement about the incident on Wednesday morning:
On July 14, DHS law enforcement conducted an operation near St. Johns, Florida. Florida Highway Patrol and HSI are investigating an incident resulting in the death of a Mexican national. We will provide an update when available.
FHP said Tuesday that agents with the Homeland Security Investigations division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement were conducting an operation in the parking lot of a gas station on SR 16 when four people inside a vehicle ran off.
One of the men tried to run across SR 16 at Green Acres Road but crossed in front of a semi and suffered fatal injuries, according to FHP.
The driver of the tractor-trailer stopped and tried to help the man, but he died at the scene, troopers said. The driver was uninjured, according to the report.
A woman who witnessed the incident described it as a “very scary” sight that will be hard to forget.
“The sounds are constantly replaying in my head of him getting hit,” she said. “I’ll never look at that road the same.”
She said she had her two children in the car with her at the time of the incident. One of them saw what occurred. She said her thoughts are with everyone involved.
She also expressed condolences for the man, calling the ICE involvement “really sad” and noting that she comes from an immigrant family.
“When I saw that whole situation happen, I prayed for that man,” she said. “I prayed for him, and I do pray that he is in heaven.”
FHP is conducting the traffic fatality investigation and said it would share updates as information becomes available.
FHP could not comment on what led to the ICE enforcement.