California Crash Kills 13, SUV Carried Human Smugglers And Illegal Immigrants, Reports Say

At least 13 people were killed and more than a dozen were injured Tuesday in a crash involving a trailer-truck and an SUV packed with 25 people in southeastern California near the Mexican border, police said.

The fatal collision occurred on Highway115 at Norrish Road about 15 miles north of the Mexican border. The SUV packed with 25 people drove into the tractor-trailer carrying gravel at around 9:15 a.m. ET reported news outlet The Washington Post.

The SUV, which normally seats 8, was carrying more than three times its capacity during the horrific crash. The officials confirmed that 12 people were killed at the sight of the collision and one victim died at the hospital.

The highway police patrol spokesperson Jake Sanchez said that the 22-year-old SUV driver was among those killed. The truck driver, 69, was treated for the injuries.

“Some of the victims were ejected from the vehicle,” Omar Watson, Chief of California Highway Patrol’s Border Division said. “It was a pretty chaotic scene,” he added, reported news outlet The Wall Street Journal.

“It’s unfortunate that many people were put into that vehicle because there’s not enough safety constraints to safely keep those people in that vehicle,” Watson said.

The overloaded vehicle reportedly carried human smugglers and illegal immigrants and the crash happened after a hole was cut in the border fence near Calexico, California, according to the news outlet Fox News.

The sources reported that two vehicles carrying illegal immigrants evaded surveillance cameras and drove through the 10-foot-wide hole in the early morning hours on Tuesday.

Roberto Velasco, head of the North America section of Mexico’s Foreign Ministry, said that there were at least 10 Mexicans among the victims.

Adolphe Edward, chief executive of El Centro Regional Medical Center where 7 victims were treated, said that he believed they were undocumented immigrants who may have crossed the border recently, reported The Washington Post.

Immigration officials have started an investigation regarding the incident. “Special Agents from Homeland Security Investigations San Diego responded to the scene of today’s fatal crash in El Centro, California, and have initiated a human smuggling investigation,” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials said in a statement.