U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested 14 undocumented immigrants hiding in the bed of a dump truck Thursday morning.

The incident occurred at 4:40 a.m. at the Highway 86 checkpoint near Salton City , California. The dump truck approached the checkpoint and agents questioned the driver as to his immigration status and asked for consent to search the truck. The truck was referred to secondary inspection where agents discovered 14 undocumented immigrants in the bed of the truck. The Border Patrol said that the people inside the bed of the truck were unsecured and had no way to get out of the truck without help as the bed was covered with a heavy duty tarp that was latched down over the bed. The driver of the truck , a 36-year old man with a Border Crossing Card was taken into custody as were 13 men and 1 women who were in the truck bed.

Border Patrol Assistant Chief Patrol Agent David Kim said , " This is an example of the blatant disregard for human life and safety to those being smuggled by the smuggling organizations. This could have turned into a very bad situation if the vehicle had gotten into an accident or left unattended for a long period of time."

The driver will be prosecuted for alien smuggling and the 14 passengers are being processed according to El Centro Sector guidelines.