Boy, 8, Killed on Freeway Near Border Checkpoint

An 8-year-old boy believed to have been an undocumented immigrant from Mexico en route to family in Orange County was struck by a car and killed along Interstate 5 north of the San Clemente border checkpoint early Wednesday.

He was run down about 12:15 a.m. as he and six others, including his mother and three siblings, were crossing the busy freeway in the early-morning darkness, authorities said.

The boy was identified as Constantino Loreto Marin, a resident of the Mexican Pacific Coast city of Acapulco. He was dead at the scene.

He was the 10th pedestrian believed to have been an undocumented Mexican immigrant to be struck and killed this year along a 10-mile stretch of Interstate 5 in northern San Diego County, where illegal immigrants finding their way north frequently cross the freeway.

Since 1987, according to the California Highway Patrol, 33 pedestrians believed to have been undocumented immigrants have been killed along Interstate 5 in that area.

All apparently were trying to bypass inspection at the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint on the highway.

Undocumented immigrants heading toward the Los Angeles area from the Mexican border have long attempted to walk around the checkpoint, subjecting themselves to the hazards of fast-moving freeway traffic.

Women and children often are the most vulnerable, officials say, because they cross the roadways more slowly. U.S. immigration authorities say more and more women and children are entering the United States illegally from Mexico, often seeking to reunite with husbands and fathers who have recently become legal under the amnesty program.

“This just shows how much desperation there is out there,” said Roberto Martinez, an immigrant-rights activist in San Diego.

Many of the victims are from rural areas and are unaccustomed to high-speed freeways. In addition, they reportedly have often been traveling for hours and are exhausted by the time they try to cross the freeway.

The California Department of Transportation has placed flashing signs along Interstate 5 warning motorists of the potential presence of pedestrians, but the deaths have continued to mount.

The boy killed early Wednesday was believed to have been en route to the Anaheim-area home of relatives, according to the Mexican consul general in San Diego. However, his precise destination and the identity of his family members in the United States were not known, said Marcela Merino, a Mexican consular official in San Diego.

He was hit by a rented 1990 Chevrolet Corsica driven by Sharon K. Frisby of Mesa, Ariz., according to Stephen Tomasiak, a traffic officer with the CHP in Oceanside. The vehicle was traveling about 60 miles an hour. The driver was not cited because she could not have avoided the accident, the CHP said.