A teen smuggler involved in an accident that killed nine illegal immigrants back in April remains behind bars.
But there's a twist in the case.
Border Patrol agents were expected to testify on Tuesday as witnesses in the juvenile court hearing.
However, that did not happen.
Instead, defense attorneys called on one key witness, whose testimony has changed the course of this investigation.
The district attorney's office stated the underage driver fled from law enforcement, and the accident was caused by his own reckless driving.
However, the defense told Judge Jesse Contreras that they have significant information that claims a border patrol unit caused the accident.
The defense attorney asked the witness what he saw the night of the accident.
The witness claims he saw a Border Patrol vehicle bump into the van from behind, causing the van to fishtail and roll over multiple times.
The district attorney's office was in strong disapproval of this testimony, but Judge Contreras granted the defense to bring the witness to the stand.
The judge also granted the defense's request to have experts help reconstruct the accident, and even praised the witness for taking the stand.
A pre-trial date for the teen held responsible for this accident is set on this case for November 1st at the 449th district court, and the trial date is set at November 14th.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKGBT