24 Suspected Illegal Immigrants Hurt, 9 Critically, in Van Crash
Two dozen suspected illegal immigrants were hurt when a smuggler’s van overturned in a remote desert area near the border, authorities said Wednesday.
Nine people were in critical condition and 15 others were seriously hurt in Monday’s 11:30 p.m. crash on a curve near Brockman and Preston roads 10 miles north of the border, Border Patrol Agent Manny Figueroa said Wednesday.
The van crossed the United States-Mexico border about 12 miles west of Calexico and was driving through the remote desert without headlights when its driver lost control on a sharp curve. Border Patrol agents were not pursuing it, Figueroa said.
“It went straight into a raised curved bank, flew over two concrete canals, landed in a field and turned over several times and ended up on its roof,” he said.
Most of the passengers were thrown from the van, the California Highway Patrol said. The 24 people, ranging from 17 to 50 in age and including two women, were taken to hospitals.
Agents from the Border Patrol’s anti-smuggling unit at El Centro Regional Medical Center were still waiting Tuesday for a doctor’s clearance to determine where the immigrants were from and the identity of the smuggler.
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