4 dead, 21 injured in crash near Sonoita
http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/125681.php
Tucson Region
4 dead, 21 injured in crash near Sonoita
By Lourdes Medrano
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 04.21.2006
A stolen truck crammed with suspected illegal border crossers rolled over late Wednesday near Sonoita, killing four people and injuring 21, authorities said.
A man driving another vehicle and suspected of involvement in the smuggling attempt was detained for questioning in the 11:45 p.m. crash about two miles north of the border, said Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada.
"We haven't seen anything of this magnitude since I've been around," said Estrada, who has worked in area law enforcement for nearly 40 years.
"We are still trying to sort out what happened and who was responsible so they can be held accountable," he added.
Nine of the accident victims — one woman and eight men — had severe injuries and were flown to University Medical Center . One of the men died, and on Thursday, six of the injured were in critical condition and two in serious condition.
Estrada said the rest of the victims went to other hospitals, including Sierra Vista and Benson. Personnel there declined to give out information.
The sheriff said U.S. Border Patrol agents alerted his department to the accident, and turned over to police the man held near the accident scene.
Border Patrol spokesman Sean King said the car rolled over shortly after an agent spotted it traveling north on Elgin Road near Arizona 82 about 11:50 a.m.
A few minutes later, the agent reported that he saw a cloud of dust and came upon the crash, King said. "Looks like the driver lost control and rolled over."
There was no high-speed chase, King said, adding that it wasn't known whether the truck driver had seen the agent.
At a news conference Thursday, UMC head trauma surgeon John Porter said most of the patients were admitted with serious wounds, including to the head and the abdomen, consistent with being ejected. Most will be hospitalized for some time, he said. The hospital is working with the Mexican Consulate to notify patients' relatives.
Greg Pivirotto, the hospital's president and CEO, spoke about the strains that treating foreign nationals puts on hospital resources. UMC sees about 960 such patients a year, which means an annual loss to the hospital of about $5 million, he said.
● Contact reporter Lourdes Medrano at 573-4347 or lmedrano@azstarnet.com.
