On Monday, January 29, 2001, Border Patrol Agent Daniel M. James, Jr., and his partner were turning their Service vehicle around at the junction of Highways 716 and 429 to pursue three vehicles reported to be carrying illegal aliens. They hit a dip in the road, which caused the vehicle to overturn several times. Agent James was thrown from the vehicle and pinned against a fence. He was taken to Christus Spohn Memorial Hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas. He passed away on Friday, March 2, 2001, because of injuries sustained in the accident.
Agent James was a native of Canton, Ohio. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from March 1988 to June 1996. He was a graduate of the 389th session of the Border Patrol Academy in Glynco, Georgia. At the time of his death, his official station was Freer, Texas.