7 Hurt in Crash After Attempt to Flee U.S. Agents

Seven suspected illegal aliens, including a 14-year-old boy, remained hospitalized Monday after being injured in an Orange County auto accident after a high-speed attempt to flee immigration authorities.

The chase began about 6 p.m. Sunday, when a Buick Le Sabre failed to stop at the U.S. Border Patrol’s checkpoint on Interstate 5 in northern San Diego County. Border Patrol officers saw five people trying to hide from view in the back seat of the Buick, supervising Agent Charlie Geer said, and officers pursued in two Border Patrol cars.

The three vehicles sped north on I-5 at 80 to 90 m.p.h., San Clemente Police Lt. Al Ehlow said. The Buick left the freeway at El Camino Real and continued at high speed through downtown San Clemente with the Border Patrol cars only a few feet behind, he said.

At Avenida Del Mar, the Buick bounced off two other cars before slamming into a palm tree in front of a bank, Ehlow said.

Maria Luisa Robledo, 21, and Alicia Villalpondo, 35, both from Mexico, and Efrain Rea Diaz, 33, were taken to San Clemente General Hospital with multiple injuries. All three remained in intensive care Monday afternoon.

Cornelio Gonzales Ruiz, 24, who police said was driving the car, Jesus Robledo, about 60, Rafael Alvarez Valencia, 14, and an unidentified woman about 25 years old were all taken to Mission Community Hospital in Mission Viejo. Robledo and the woman were in critical condition Monday. Gonzales was in fair condition with fractured ribs, a fractured arm and face and head injuries, hospital spokeswoman Jan Walker said.

The teen-ager was recovering after surgery to repair a seriously fractured ankle, Walker said.

Ehlow said police had not yet determined where five of the victims were from.

No charges have been filed against any of the seven, but immigration authorities plan to question them when their conditions permit, Geer said.