Nine Hurt as Truck Crashes in Chase

At least nine people suffered minor injuries Monday morning when a stolen truck being pursued by Border Patrol agents broadsided a National Guard van near the border in San Ysidro.

Five of the injured, who were treated and released at hospitals, are members of the guard’s 579th Engineering Battalion, according to Border Patrol spokesman Ted Swofford. Four men from the pickup truck, believed to be undocumented aliens, also were taken to local hospitals with minor injuries, he said.

None of the names of the injured were available, Swofford said.

The pursuit began shortly after 7:30 a.m. Monday when the Border Patrol, responding to a tip, followed a pickup truck speeding south on Dairy Mart Road. At one point the pickup truck pulled over in response to the Border Patrol’s flashing lights, but, as the agents got out of their car and approached the truck, the driver took off again, Swofford said. The chase resumed until the truck tried to pass the National Guard van, which was making a left turn in the 2200 block of Dairy Mart Road.

The driver of the truck broadsided the National Guard van on the driver’s side, causing the van to spin around, Swofford said. The Border Patrol agents were not involved in the crash, he said.