The Region : 15 Aliens Injured as Fleeing Van Flips

Fifteen Guatemalan aliens suffered minor injuries when the driver of a van being chased by U.S. Border Patrol agents jumped out of the vehicle, allowing it to roll over into a ditch beside Interstate 15 in the Temescal Valley south of Corona. California Highway Patrol Officer Mike Devine said the van was slowing down on the Indian Truck Trail exit ramp when the driver “jumped out while the vehicle was still in motion, fled on foot, and the vehicle went over the side of the freeway.” One of those injured, Carmen Fajardo, 40, suffered a broken right leg and a collapsed lung, Devine said. The others--ranging in age from 2 to 42 years old--were taken to hospitals in Corona and Riverside. The van’s driver, identified as Manuel Knight, 30, of Tijuana, was not injured, but was captured by Border Patrol agents about 15 minutes after the accident, and booked on a charge of alien smuggling.