A 39-year old man fled Border Patrol agents at the Pine Valley Immigration Checkpoint.

The driver , a U.S. citizen , approached the checkpoint with 5 passengers in his car. The vehicle was referred to secondary inspection and the driver appeared to comply with the order but then turned back onto the freeway and took off at a high rate of speed. An agent was able to deploy a device that deflated two tires on the car but the driver continued westbound on Interstate 8 with Border Patrol agents in pursuit. The car slide off the highway into the center divider near the Pine Valley Road exit. The five passengers fled on foot but were soon taken into custody. As agents approached the car they saw the driver inject himself with what was later determined to be heroin. The driver was arrested and faces charges of alien smuggling and is currently being monitored in a detox facility. The five passengers , two men , two women and a 16-year old boy , all Mexican nationals illegally present in the U.S. , are being processed for removal.