15 Injured as Van Fleeing Border Patrol Crashes

Fifteen Guatemalans were injured Tuesday when a van being chased by U.S. Border Patrol agents rolled over in a ditch beside Interstate 15 in the Temescal Valley south of here.

The van was slowing on the Indian Truck Trail off-ramp when its driver jumped out, Highway Patrol Officer Mike Devine said.

“He jumped out while the vehicle was still in motion, fled on foot, and the vehicle went over the side of the freeway,” Devine said. The van rolled about 120 feet “down a steep, dirt embankment to a drainage culvert” and turned over.

Driver Not Injured

One of the injured, Carmen Fajardo, 40, suffered a broken leg and collapsed lung, Devine said. Fajardo was reported in guarded condition at Riverside General Hospital.

The others--ranging in age from 2 to 42 years--were treated at area hospitals for cuts and bruises. Most had been returned to federal custody by late afternoon.

The van’s driver, Manuel Knight, 30, of Tijuana, who was not injured, was arrested nearby by Border Patrol agents about 15 minutes after the accident, authorities said.

Knight was held on suspicion of smuggling aliens, according to Ronald Barbeau, Border Patrol agent in charge at Temecula. Knight is expected to be arraigned today, Barbeau added.

The CHP will seek additional felony charges of hit-and-run driving and child endangerment against Knight, Devine said.

The Border Patrol had chased the van less than a mile, Barbeau said, adding that a car believed connected to the alleged smuggling escaped in the confusion of the accident.

The officers were stationed in the area to catch aliens who had managed to slip past the Temecula station. On Monday, Barbeau said, agents stopped two vehicles carrying a total of 20 suspected illegal aliens through the Temescal Valley.