Border officials said a man died after falling from the top of the border wall about a quarter mile east of the Pacific Ocean in California. The incident highlights a frequent warning from Border Patrol agents — smugglers and travel companions will leave immigrants for dead to avoid apprehension.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Tuesday that the man was on top of the wall alongside a woman with a buckled ladder beneath them on the south side. Upon seeing the agents, two individuals on the ground fled toward Mexico. The agents yelled for them to fix the ladder, but they didn’t listen and continued running.
What are the chances of surviving a 30-foot fall?
The wall in that area is approximately 30 feet high. According to OSHA, a fall of just six feet risks significant injury. The American College of Surgeons recommends anyone who falls 20 feet or more be transported to a trauma center due to the risk of catastrophic injuries. According to the World Journal of Emergency Medicine, approximately one-quarter of those who fall from 30 feet die from the impact.
The cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries due to an accident. The incident took place in March but is just now being made public by Customs and Border Protection in accordance with federal disclosure laws.
Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility is reviewing the incident.
Timeline of the incident
At 10:56 p.m., two Border Patrol agents investigated a sensor activation five miles west of the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego. Two minutes later, the agents saw a man and a woman stuck on top of the fence as others on the ground ran back into Mexico.
At 11 p.m., the agents saw the woman fall from the fence but never saw the man fall. They radioed for Emergency Medical Services. By this point, the agents reached the individuals and saw that the fall had gravely injured the man, and he was making sounds. According to body camera footage, the agents believed moving the man would cause further injuries.
Five minutes later, the agents checked the man for a pulse and could not find one, nor could they notice signs of breathing. The woman spoke with the agents and survived.
At 11:20 p.m., San Diego Fire-Rescue arrived with the proper medical equipment for an assessment. They documented the man’s condition as unresponsive, no pulse, not breathing and blunt force trauma to the head with uncontrolled bleeding.
After five minutes with the man, EMS personnel also noticed blood coming out of the man’s ears.
By 11:34 p.m., a doctor pronounced him dead remotely after consulting EMS.
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