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Guatemalan woman dies after 24-minute wait atop border wall, body camera shows

Apr 1, 2025·Location: San Diego, CA

Guatemalan woman dies after 24-minute wait atop border wall, body camera shows
Photo via timesofsandiego.com

Petronila Elizabeth Poma Perez, a 24-year-old from Guatemala also known as "Heidy," died after falling about 30 feet from the U.S.-Mexico border wall near San Diego in March, with another person injured in a similar fall. Body-worn camera footage released by Border Patrol shows she called for help for roughly 24 minutes before falling, as agents waited for fire department assistance rather than using a nearby ladder and a fire engine was initially led to the wrong location. She was pronounced dead at the scene after striking her head on a concrete platform at the base of the fence.

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