Photo by Sophia Kunthara/Cronkite News: A 26-year-old Guatemalan woman was impaled by rebar after she and her two children, ages 3 and 5, jumped over the border wall in the San Ysidro area in California. The border wall in that area is part of 14 miles that is being upgraded from its decades-old mat wall.
Contributed Article/Courtesy U.S. Customs and Border Protection
SAN YSIDRO, CALIF. – San Diego Sector Border Patrol agents rescued a woman who fell from the primary wall about one mile east of the San Ysidro Port of Entry and impaled herself on pieces of rebar on Friday.
On Nov. 23, at around 8:25 p.m., agents responded to the area and found the woman had fallen from the border wall after she climbed over it to illegally enter the country. The woman landed on rebar that pierced her side and buttocks. Agents rendered aid and requested EMS and the San Diego Fire department for assistance. The woman was also taken to a local hospital and is currently being treated for non-life threatening injuries.
Agents identified the woman as a 26-year-old from Guatemala. She was accompanied by her two children; a 3-year-old and a 5-year-old. Both children were also taken to a hospital for evaluation of potential fall trauma. They were later released back into Border Patrol custody.
“Entering our country illegally, particularly over our walls is not only dangerous, but also very foolish,” San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Rodney Scott said. “This woman placed her own life and her children’s lives in peril. She could have easily died if not for the quick response by our agents and EMS.”
This area is an active construction site as 14-miles of the wall is being installed to replace the decades-old landing mat wall.
