ALLEGED DRUG SMUGGLERS TRY TO RUN DOWN BORDER PATROL AGENTS

EL PASO, Texas- Two men allegedly trying to smuggle drugs into the United
States in a sport utility vehicle tried to run down U.S. Border Patrol
agents Monday before swerving out of control and crashing into the Rio
Grande, officials said.

The four Border Patrol agents were uninjured. The two men, one of whom may
have been injured, fled back into Mexico on foot after the crash.

The men drove into the United States about 4 p.m. in an area where the
Texas and New Mexico state lines meet the Mexican border, said Border
Patrol spokesman Doug Mosier.

Mosier said the four agents spotted the vehicle and had to jump out of the
way when the driver sped toward them.

The agents shot at the vehicle, which drove through an opening in a chain
link fence that runs along the border before crashing into the river,
Mosier said.

"One suspect is believed to have a gunshot wound in the upper shoulder
area," Mosier said.

He said agents found between 500 and 800 pounds of marijuana in the vehicle.

The FBI has been called in to investigate the incident and Mexican
officials are cooperating, Mosier said.