CHP Names Driver in Crash That Killed 8 Immigrants

The California Highway Patrol announced Thursday that it has concluded that a 19-year-old illegal immigrant was the driver in the April 6 crash outside Temecula that killed eight illegal immigrants.

Fernando Covarrubias-Varela already faces federal smuggling charges for his role in the crash. If state charges are filed in connection with driving the vehicle, he could get a far more serious sentence than the federal case would bring.

CHP spokesman Phil Konstantin said two survivors have identified Covarrubias-Varela of Sinaloa, Mexico, as the driver of the pickup that flipped into a small gully as the driver sped away from a Border Patrol car.

Konstantin said that within two weeks the CHP will conclude its investigation and send its findings, including a possible recommendation on what charges should be filed, to the Riverside County district attorney’s office.

Randy Tagami, assistant district attorney in Riverside County, said he could not comment on whether Covarrubias-Varela will face state charges stemming from the crash because the CHP has not forwarded its report.

He added, however, that in vehicular fatality cases, the driver can be charged with up to second-degree murder, which carries a sentence of 25 years to life in prison, if it can be proved that he showed an extreme disregard for human life.

A smuggler / driver was convicted of second-degree murder after the 1992 crash in Temecula that left six dead and prompted the Border Patrol to revise its policy on high-speed chases.

Covarrubias-Varela has admitted being one of the smugglers but denied being the driver. “He was definitely not the driver,” his attorney, Karl Rupp, told reporters.

Rupp noted that there is a fingerprint on the driver’s side door that belongs to a 22-year-old illegal immigrant who was killed in the crash and had previously been arrested for driving a stolen truck full of illegal immigrants.

The CHP announcement came the same day a federal grand jury in Los Angeles indicted Covarrubias-Varela on charges of smuggling and conspiracy to commit smuggling.

The indictment charges that Covarrubias-Varela, who was injured in the crash and has been fitted with a back brace, helped organize the smuggling group by meeting immigrants at a bus station in Tijuana and negotiating to smuggle them to Los Angeles for $400 each.

He took the group by bus to Tecate and then waited at a ranch before leading a group of 25 across the border on foot, according to the indictment. The group was loaded into a stolen truck and driven to a “drop house” near San Diego to wait before attempting the final leg of the illegal journey.

Border Patrol officials have said they saw a camper full of suspected illegal immigrants winding its way along the back roads of northern San Diego County near dawn April 6. Under Border Patrol procedure, they did not attempt to chase or overtake the camper as it crossed into Riverside County, the officials said.

In addition to the eight fatalities, 10 people were injured in the crash.

About 150 feet of skid marks indicate that the driver lost control quickly as the pickup raced at a speed estimated at more than 75 mph.

A hearing will be held today or early next week to clear the way for Covarrubias-Varela to be transferred from the federal jail in downtown San Diego to a federal jail in Los Angeles. He is being held without bail.