Inquiry Continues in Deaths of Immigrants Eluding INS

Authorities Saturday continued their investigation of an accident late Friday in which two people were killed and eight others injured when a pickup truck loaded with illegal immigrants flipped on Interstate 5 while trying to elude Border Patrol officers near the San Diego-Orange County border, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The chase began about 9:05 p.m. when Border Patrol officers began pursuing the vehicle north of the checkpoint here, just south of San Clemente, after receiving information that the vehicle had been stolen, officials said.

The fleeing truck, which carried eight immigrants in its bed along with the driver and a cab passenger, reached speeds of more than 100 m.p.h. and crossed all four northbound lanes of the freeway.

The driver lost control near Cristianitos Road, and the truck flipped several times, throwing all eight people from its bed. The pickup finally landed on its wheels near the center freeway divider. One passenger caught beneath it was killed, officials said.

The driver was killed after he escaped from a front window and jumped from a freeway bridge 100 feet into a culvert, investigators said. Neither the driver nor the dead passenger had been identified Saturday by the San Diego County medical examiner’s office.

A second passenger was rescued by officers after he too jumped from the bridge. He managed to hold onto a support beam until help arrived.

The injured passengers--identified by officers as workers from Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador--included one woman, officers said.

They were treated at nearby hospitals, mostly for minor injuries, officials said.