DRIVER CHARGED IN IMMIGRANT DEATHS

SAN ANTONIO The driver of a broiling tractor-trailer found packed with immigrants outside a Walmart in San Antonio was charged Monday in the deaths of 10 of his passengers and could face the death penalty.

In outlining their immigrant-smuggling case against James Bradley Jr., 60, federal prosecutors depicted the trailer as pitchblack, crammed with around 90 people or more, and so suffocatingly hot that one passenger said they took turns breathing through a hole and pounding on walls to get the driver’s attention.

Bradley appeared in federal court on charges of illegally transporting immigrants for financial gain, resulting in death. The Clearwater, Fla., man did not enter a plea or say anything in court about what happened. He was assigned a public defender and ordered held for another hearing.

Over the weekend, authorities discovered eight bodies inside the crowded 18-wheeler parked in the summer heat, and two more victims died in hospital. Officials feared the death toll could rise because nearly 20 others rescued from the rig were in dire condition, many suffering from heatstroke.

Bradley told investigators that the trailer had been sold and he was transporting it for his boss from Iowa to Brownsville, Texas. He said he didn’t realize people were inside until he parked and got out to relieve himself.

After hearing banging, he opened the door and was “surprised when he was run over by ‘Spanish’ people,” according to the complaint.

Bradley said he did not call 911, even though he knew at least one passenger was dead.