HOLTVILLE, Calif. — At least 13 folks died after an SUV filled with dozens of passengers collided with a semitruck close to the U.S.-Mexico border Tuesday, in accordance with California Highway Patrol officers.
California Highway Patrol Division Chief Omar Watson stated the crash concerned an enormous rig hauling two trailers and a Ford Expedition carrying 25 folks. The huge rig smashed into the facet of the SUV earlier than 6:15 a.m. PST on the intersection of State Route 115 and Norrish Road close to Holtville, about 50 miles west of Arizona and 10 miles north of the border.
Authorities, late Tuesday, stated they’re investigating whether or not human smuggling was concerned.
It wasn’t instantly clear whether or not the SUV was carrying migrants who had crossed the border, ferrying farmworkers to fields, or was getting used for another goal.
“Special agents from Homeland Security Investigations San Diego responded … and have initiated a human smuggling investigation,” the agency said in a statement, adding that other details weren’t being released.
A preliminary report on the crash released late Tuesday by the highway patrol said the SUV, driven by a 28-year-old resident of Mexico, “entered the intersection directly in front” of a Peterbilt truck driven by Joe Beltran, 68, of El Centro, Calif.
The truck struck the left side of the SUV, immediately killing its driver, who was not named by police. The report says it is unclear why the driver of the SUV pulled into the intersection into the path of the truck.
Beltran was taken to an area hospital with “major injuries,” the report said.
“It would be premature for me to speculate or discuss what caused this collision. What we have to keep in mind is that 13 people died in this crash,” Watson said. “It’s a very sad situation.”
Twelve people died at the scene, including the SUV driver, and one died at the hospital, Watson said. There were children in the SUV, but none of them died, he said. The ages of those involved in the crash range from 15 to 53.
Ten of the victims were Mexicans, confirmed Roberto Velasco, director of North American affairs for Mexico’s Foreign Relations Department.
The older-model Ford Expedition SUV should fit only six people — meaning almost 20 additional passengers were unsafely riding inside at the time of the crash, he said.
“Obviously, that vehicle is not meant for that many people. It’s unfortunate that that number of people were put into that vehicle,” Watson said.
The driver of the SUV was from Mexicali, a city in northern Mexico that hugs the U.S. border near the El Centro region in California, according to CHP Officer Jake Sanchez.
Seven patients were taken to El Centro Regional Medical Center, where one person died, emergency room managing director Judy Cruz said in a Facebook Live video Tuesday. The hospital called for air support to transport several patients to other facilities, she said.
A few patients were taken to Pioneers Memorial Hospital in Brawley, California, Cruz said. Several others were airlifted to the trauma center at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, Calif., hospital spokesperson Todd Burke said. Three were in intensive care.
By late afternoon local time, one patient had been released from one of the hospitals, Watson said.
“The patients are, of course, going through a little bit of a difficult time as you can imagine,” said Dr. Adolphe Edward, chief executive officer at El Centro Regional Medical Center. “This is a major accident. We are taking care of them in the emergency room department.”
The California Highway Patrol worked with the Mexican consulateto “determine who exactly was in the vehicle,” Watson said. He said what’s “important to me is to make sure the families are notified and that we do a thorough investigation so that we know what the cause of the collision was.”
He said investigators were still piecing together why more than two dozen people were crammed into the vehicle, where they were coming from and where they were going. While law enforcement was still investigating what led to the crash, weather did not play a factor, Watson said.
Watson added they did find identification for some of the passengers in the vehicle but wouldn’t say whether all were U.S. citizens.
Watson said seats were missing from the SUV and the only ones still in the vehicle at the time of the crash were the drivers seat and the front passenger seat.
“I don’t know if they were cut out or removed, but they were not in the vehicle,” Watson stated of rear seats in the SUV.
Several passengers have been ejected from SUV in the crash whereas a number of who have been injured have been capable of pull themselves from the wreckage, Watson stated. Others have been nonetheless trapped when legislation enforcement arrived and have been freed with their assist.
“It was a pretty chaotic scene,” Watson stated, later including that, “everyone in the vehicle was injured to some extent.”
The freeway is a well-traveled street, and it was anticipated to be closed all day, Watson stated.The wreckage was at an intersection inside a largely undeveloped space of farmland, and residents from close by communities ventured to the positioning Tuesday afternoon.
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein stated she was “heartbroken” after studying in regards to the lethal crash Tuesday afternoon.
“My thoughts are with the families of all those involved,” Feinstein announced on Twitter. “My office is closely monitoring the situation as we learn more about this horrific crash. My thanks to the Imperial County Fire Department and other first responders for their swift response and the various medical centers in the area that treated injured passengers.”
Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., additionally expressed his condolences on Twitter.
“My office is closely monitoring the heartbreaking crash in Imperial County, CA that has claimed 15 lives and injured several more,” Padilla said, including: “Our prayers are with their families and with those still in the hospital.”
Macario Mora, a spokesman for Customs and Border Protection in Yuma and El Centro, stated the Border Patrol was serving to different legislation enforcement with the crash. He stated the immigration standing of these in the SUV was unknown and being investigated.
Authorities are working with the Mexican consulate to determine the victims.
“It was an unusual number of people in an SUV, but we don’t know who they were,” Mora stated, including that they may have been farmworkers.
A harvest is underway in the area, the place farmworkers will acquire a lot of the winter lettuce and different leafy greens eaten in the United States.
Mora advised USA TODAY that CBP was on the scene to assist officers investigating the accident and the company wasn’t concerned in what led to the crash. “This was not a Border Patrol pursuit,” Watson stated.
As authorities have been investigating the crash, Hugo Castro, 49, positioned at the very least 20 crosses on the scene for the victims.
He stated he didn’t know any of them, nor was he accustomed to earlier collisions on the intersection. He positioned the crosses, he stated, to lift consciousness for immigration rights and reform.
“I know they’re human beings who deserve a better opportunity,” Castro stated. “Human beings should not die for trying to be with their loved ones.”
Archival imagery from Google Maps reveals at the very least one cross on the similar intersection. At least two different deadly accidents have occurred on the similar location, in accordance with the University of California-Berkeley’s Transportation Injury Mapping System.
Contributing: Emily LeCoz and Janet Loehrke, USA TODAY; Associated Press
Colin Atagi reported from Holtville for the Palm Desert Sun. Grace Hauck reported from Chicago for USA TODAY. Christal Hayes reported from Washington, D.C. for USA TODAY.
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source https://infomagzine.com/13-dead-in-suv-semitruck-crash-in-california/
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