Two women were killed last week and 15 other people injured when the truck they were traveling in crashed after being chased by Border Patrol agents near the border in Southern California. There are significant restrictions on when Border Patrol agents can give chase, and in this incident, officials say the decision was made after the truck driver tried to run down two agents.

Agents first tried to stop the truck by blowing out its tires with a spike strip, but the truck twice avoided them, aiming instead at the agents placing the strips. A third attempt worked, but the truck continued on a flat tire at speeds of at least 80 miles an hour. After 22 miles, the driver lost control of the truck, and it crashed into a bridge guardrail. The driver of the truck, Carlos Moreno, has been charged with two counts of murder, among other charges.

Both the California Highway Patrol and the Border Patrol have been investigating the incident. Many others, including the Mexican consul general in San Diego, are questioning whether it was appropriate to attempt to stop the truck with spike strips when agents knew it was packed with people, especially when there was a Border Patrol helicopter following the truck.

As the investigation proceeds, there have been questions about whether Mexican consular employees went to the hospital where many of the injured were treated and, claiming to be INS officials and attempted to gain the release of a person alleged to be an accomplice of the smuggler. There are also allegations that they appeared at the scene of the crash and tried to help the smuggler escape. The consulate says they did nothing of the sort, and that their officials on the scene were only wearing identification badges issued by the INS, adding that they informed the Border Patrol that they went to both the scene and the hospital in order to offer services to Mexican citizens. Border Patrol officials have not confirmed or denied that the people at the scene were with the Mexican consulate.