PENITAS – A 19-year-old Penitas man accused in a human smuggling attempt is behind bars.

According to Homeland Security Investigations, Jonathan Olivarez crashed his car as he attempted to evade authorities near Penitas, Tuesday night.

In addition to Olivarez, six people in the country illegally were hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries. CHANNEL 5 NEWS was told some were from Romania.

On Thursday, Olivarez is expected to go before a judge in McAllen.