Border agent spots hand in car’s glove box — and finds 17-year-old hiding in dashboard

A U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent inspecting a car Monday at a border crossing from Mexico spotted something unexpected behind the glove compartment — a human hand, KSWB reported.

Agents at aCalexico crossing in California found a 17-year-old boy stuffed in the dashboard, with his legs draped over the car’s steering column, according to the station.

The 28-year-old driver and his 21-year-old passenger, both U.S. citizens, face human smuggling charges, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents wrote in a release.

The agency seized the 2001 Ford Taurus, according to the release. The incident took place at 8:30 a.m.

After a health check, agents found the 17-year-old, a Mexican citizen, had been apprehended in March at another border crossing using a document that did not belong to him, the agency says.

“Smuggling a person in a confined space is dangerous and can have serious consequences,” said Sergio Beltran, officer in charge at the Calexico crossing, according to the release. “In this instance no one was seriously injured during this attempted illegal entry.”

In 2014, two men died after being stuffed in the trunk of a vehicle trying to cross the border in San Diego, the agency says.

This story was originally published November 27, 2019 at 2:27 PM with the headline "Border agent spots hand in car’s glove box — and finds 17-year-old hiding in dashboard."