Chase by Border Patrol : 7 Still Hospitalized With Crash Injuries

A 14-year-old boy and six other suspected illegal aliens remained hospitalized Monday after being seriously injured in an auto accident in San Clemente. Authorities said the accident followed a high-speed chase that began when the auto went through a Border Patrol checkpoint.

The youth, Rafael Alvarez Valencia, was in fair condition following surgery to repair a broken ankle at Mission Community Hospital in Mission Viejo, hospital spokeswoman Jan Walker said.

Hospital officials are still uncertain where the boy is from, and they have not yet located his parents or any relatives, Walker said.

Two Cars Give Chase

The chase began about 6 p.m. Sunday when a Buick LeSabre failed to stop at the Border Patrol’s San Clemente checkpoint on Interstate 5. Border Patrol agents saw five people trying to hide from view in the back seat of the Buick, supervising agent Charlie Geer said, and they gave chase in two Border Patrol cars.

Leaving the checkpoint, which is in northern San Diego County, the three cars sped north on the highway 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 vehicles 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.

Authorities identified the driver of the car as Cornelio Gonzales Ruiz, 24. He was in fair condition late Monday at Mission Community Hospital with fractured ribs, a fractured arm and injuries to the face and head, Walker said.

Also at Mission Community Hospital are Jesus Robledo, whom Walker described as between 60 and 65 years old, and an unidentified woman, about 25. Both were in the intensive care unit with multiple injuries.

Another victim, Maria Luisa Robledo, 21, who was taken to San Clemente General Hospital, said that Jesus Robledo is her father and the unidentified woman is her sister, hospital spokeswoman Lori Drew said. The woman said she has a brother in Santa Ana, Drew said.

Inglewood Address

Accident victims Alicia Villalpando, 35, and Efrain Rea Diaz, 33, also were taken to San Clemente General Hospital, both with multiple injuries. Diaz was the only one of the three who had been moved out of the intensive care unit by late Monday, Drew said.

Police said that Villalpando was from Mexico, but Drew said hospital records show Villalpando as having an Inglewood address. Maria Luisa Robledo is from Limon, in the Mexican state of Michoacan, police said, but they have been unable to determine where the other victims are from.