3 Suspected Illegal Immigrants Hurt in Chase

A truck full of suspected illegal immigrants led a California Highway Patrol car on a chase at up to 100 mph on Interstate 15 Sunday morning before rolling over and injuring three occupants, the CHP said.

A CHP officer spotted a Ford truck with a camper shell and apparently altered registration tabs on its rear license plate traveling north on I-15 near the exits that lead to Lake Elsinore in Riverside County about 10:15 a.m.

When the CHP car used its red light to order the truck to pull over, the truck’s driver made a U-turn into the southbound lanes and sped upward of 100 mph before attempting to use the Main Street offramp to Lake Elsinore, CHP spokesman Dennis Welch said.

The truck failed to negotiate the offramp and flipped over. Three occupants--one with a broken leg, and two complaining of pain--were taken to Inland Valley Medical Center in Menifee.

Ten other occupants were taken into custody by the CHP and turned over to the Border Patrol. Eight to 10 other occupants fled, officers said.

Welch said the CHP officer had kept his red light on during the incident but kept one-eighth of a mile back for safety reasons. “At no time did he attempt to overtake the truck,” he said.

Welch said investigators are unsure whether the driver of the truck was among the injured, the arrested or the escapees.

The incident came only nine days after a van full of suspected immigrants flipped over off Interstate 8 near Alpine east of San Diego, killing two occupants.

Four weeks ago, eight suspected illegal immigrants were killed and 10 injured when a truck overturned west of Interstate 15 near Temecula as it attempted to evade Border Patrol agents.