(Gila Bend, Arizona – May 12, 2011)
The two United States Border Patrol agents who gave their lives in the line of duty when their SUV was hit by a Union Pacific train at an unguarded, dangerous railroad crossing have been identified. The two agents – Hector Clark, 39, a native of Yuma, AZ, and Eduardo Rojas Jr., 35, originally from El Paso, TX – each are survived by a wife and two children.
Clark would celebrate 10 years with the USBP in August, while Rojas marked his 11th anniversary with the Border Patrol just last month. Both were assigned to the Yuma Sector, which numbers close to 1,000 agents. The train carried the demolished, unmarked, black SUV a half mile down the tracks before grinding to a stop.
The two agents were positioning themselves to assist other agents in the apprehension of a group of suspected illegal aliens on foot. While public officials expressed their sorrow and grief over the loss of the two agents’ lives, Union Pacific issued a terse statement that its crew had no warning that the SUV would turn in front of the train, and did not elaborate beyond that.
