A woman in Texas insisted that she was using a mattress truck to haul mattresses. However, police officers felt like something was off and decided to investigate. They found 25 illegal migrants packed in the box truck like sardines. 

Texas woman caught with 25 migrants in mattress truck 

You never know what people are hauling. A mattress truck might not be carrying mattresses. For example, it could be filled with 25 illegal migrants facing dangerous conditions instead. 

Something seemed off about the box truck in Texas, so officers decided to initiate a traffic stop. The driver, identified as 43-year-old Silvia Patricia Santamaria, claimed to be transporting mattresses. 

She claimed that she picked up a load from the border town of Alton and was heading to Houston. They decided to look into the load and opened the back of the vehicle. 

Police officers moved 30 mattresses out of the way before finding 25 illegal migrants struggling to breathe in the sweltering heat. They were crammed into a crawl space in the box truck wall, and there was little to no ventilation. 

According to the NY Post, one officer immediately called ambulances to assess the health of each individual. Officers also passed out water bottles to prevent dehydration and heat sickness. 

Santamaria was quickly apprehended and charged with 25 counts of human smuggling. As far as I know, no one was injured in the back of the mattress truck. 

However, the men, women, and children were exposed to dangerous conditions. The Texas heat and lack of ventilation could have caused people to suffocate.