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Dead Bodies, Brain Damage Victims Found: Dozens Locked In Hot Truck Trailer In Sweltering Heat

By Roz Zurko
Published on: 12:27 PST, Jul 23, 2017

A tractor-trailer truck parked in a Walmart parking lot in San Antonio, Texas, harbored the scene of a horrific tragedy. Dozens of people were left in the sweltering Texas heat locked up in the trailer of that truck and by the time the locked doors were open, eight people had already died, with another death occurring on the way to the hospital.

More than 30 people were hospitalized, many are in critical condition and suffering from irreversible brain damage from the heat they endured in that truck. The door of the truck’s trailer was locked, but somehow one person managed to escape and walked into Walmart asking for water. The employees at that Walmart store called the police.

By the time police arrived citizens had taken it into their own hands to get those doors open only to find the horrific scene waiting inside. The store’s surveillance camera showed that the truck had been there overnight with people pulling up to the truck and taking people out of the trailer.

Richard L Durbin, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas said in a statement, “All were victims of ruthless human smugglers indifferent to the well-being of their fragile cargo,” according to the Washington Post. The victims were all packed into this refrigerator truck, with the refrigerator units not working and the truck not having a working air condition unit.

There was no sign of water for these people locked inside that trailer in the sweltering heat. The surveillance camera footage showed people pulling up to the truck during the night and unloading some of the occupants of that trailer and taking them away. Despite some being taken off the truck there were still 39 victims inside that trailer. What people found behind the doors of that tractor trailer truck was unthinkable.

The people locked inside were barely alive and they had rapid heartbeats, with their temperatures spiking. The victims were actually very hot to the touch, according to the first responders. The truck was discovered early in the morning. Authorities said if the victims weren’t found that morning, chances are all of them would have been dead as the day went on.

When one man was able to make it out of the trailer somehow and go into Walmart for water, an employee helped him out to the truck with the water and immediately called the police. The truck driver of the vehicle was taken into custody. He was identified as 60-year-old James Bradley Jr. and federal officials plan to file criminal complaints against this driver on Monday.

It is believed that Bradley did not work alone, he is more than likely part of a ring, as the investigation into this horrific event is underway. According to Fox News on Sunday, it is believed that as many as 100 people were crammed into that trailer at one point during their journey.

According to authorities, 30 people were hospitalized, with 17 of them in critical condition. According to Fire Chief Charles Hood, many of the victims have suffered irreversible brain damage. The majority of the victims were men, but there were two school-aged kids within the group. Original reports had the two children dead, but they were not among the dead victims, according to authorities.

[Featured Image by Mike Ledray/Shutterstock]

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