Related articles:

Car hits border agent

Other articles by Brady Mccombs:

Border agents find 2 illegal tunnels, seize 2 pot hauls 3 incidents yield almost 2 tons of pot along border Pot-hauling driver killed during chase southwest of Benson Man killed after fleeing Border Patrol checkpoint near Benson Chertoff hopes his 'gains' will stick Homeland Security chief's Tucson visit met by protestsI-19 checkpoint will be 'temporary' a bit longer'Temporary' border checkpoint near Tucson to stay longer than plannedViolence takes toll on Nogales tourism Matan en Nogales a jefe policíaco estatal

Health Care
SOUTHERN ARIZONA ENDODONTICS I
NSURANCE PROCESSOR Dental
Apache Dental
Porcelain Techs General
Prestige Maintenance USA
Area Manager Technical
Yavapai College
Analyst Banner Programmer Health Care
Freedom Manor
Caregivers Education
Yavapai College
Teachers Retail
TOTAL WINE & MORE
WINE TEAM MEMBERS, CASHIER & STOCK MEMEBERS

A Border Patrol agent struck by a car Sunday was out of the hospital Monday and in good condition.

The agent, whose name the agency has declined to release, suffered cuts and bruises, but nothing major, said spokes-man Sean King.

The incident began at around 1 p.m. Sunday when the agent stopped a 1995 Nissan near South Sierrita Mountain Road and Arizona 86, southwest of Tucson. As the agent approached the car, it suddenly pulled out and struck the agent, according to Border Patrol reports.

The agent called for backup, and agents found the car shortly afterward near South Marstellar Road and West Hermans Road, on the Southwest Side. But the car headed toward another Border Patrol agent. One or more agents fired at the car, which went off the road into a wash.

The driver and six passengers were not injured.

The driver, a U.S. citizen, is in custody on suspicion of assaulting a federal officer and smuggling. One of the passengers, another U.S. citizen, is also in custody on suspicion of smuggling.

The five other passengers were illegal entrants who were to be interviewed by FBI agents and then voluntarily deported, King said.

The incident marked the 12th time since Oct. 1 that a Tucson Sector agent has been assaulted with a vehicle, down slightly from this time last year when the agency had 16 vehicle assaults, according to King. Since Oct. 1, the agency has recorded 102 assaults on agents, nearly identical to last year at this time when there were 103, King said.

Assaults have increased since fiscal year 2004, when there were 118 for the entire year. The number of agents in the Tucson Sector has increased from 1,600 in 2002 to about 2,400 today.

Assaults include throwing rocks, shootings, vehicle assaults and any kind of physical violence on an agent, King said. They do not include verbal confrontations.

Assaults with rocks are the most frequent, with 63 this year compared with 57 last year at this time. Physical assaults on agents follow, with 16 this year compared with 16 last year at this time. Other types of assaults include shootings, of which there were eight this year compared with 13 last year.