Human trafficking investigated after drugs and weapons found in car crash

Lake Worth police confirmed on Friday that investigators are looking into the possibility of human trafficking offenses in connection with a rollover accident involving a 13-year-old girl.

The accident happened around 9 pm on Wednesday after a brief police chase.

According to Lake Worth Police Chief J. T. Manushagian, officers tried to stop the driver for violating equipment regulations, but the driver refused to stop. The vehicle hit a curb on the 2900 block of Northwest Center and overturned in a field.

There were four people in the car: a 16-year-old boy, an 18-year-old man, a 28-year-old man and a 13-year-old girl.

Chief Manushagian said detectives suspect that human trafficking may be involved early on.

“The evidence we received yesterday [Thursday] only confirms this suspicion. The main suspicious factor for us was that this young girl was not related to anyone in this car. No family ties,” Manushagyan said.

“Since then, we have received evidence that the sexual abuse actually took place. So, we want to get to the bottom of it and find out where it happened, how it happened and who is responsible for it.”

As a result of the accident, three passengers of the car flew out. All four passengers were hospitalized in serious or critical condition.

Earlier this week, 18-year-old Xavier Lopez spoke to NBC 5 from his hospital bed.

“All I remember is that my friends picked me up to go eat at IHOP,” Lopez said. “The car rolled over, everything went dark, and we got out of the car.”

Juanita Flores, the mother of 28-year-old Eric Conde, said the details released so far don’t add up. Flores added that she knows someone in the car committed some wrongdoing but hopes the investigation will bring the right people to justice.

“All I want is to know the truth,” she said. “Whoever is held accountable, they are responsible, but I just want the truth to come out.”

Lake Worth police said drugs, money, phones and two handguns were found at the scene.

“We collected a lot of evidence inside the car, but we must remember that it rolled over several times. People were thrown inside the car, so DNA cannot be the only thing we rely on,” Chief Manushagyan said.

Manushagyan said it was not yet clear who was driving the car. Detectives spoke to one of the passengers, but official interrogations were not conducted due to the severity of the injuries.

“Everyone who was in the car is suspected. We will move through the system process to rule out suspects as much as possible,” he said. “Every person in the car had a criminal record.”

He said he was confident that several people would be charged.

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