www.latimes.com

5 Killed, 15 Hurt When Packed Van Crashes on Desert Highway
The CHP believes the victims were illegal immigrants. None apparently wore a seat belt, and all were ejected when the vehicle rolled.
By Susana Enriquez
Times Staff Writer

August 2, 2005

A van packed with suspected illegal immigrants veered off Interstate 40 and flipped repeatedly near the remote desert town of Ludlow early Monday morning, killing five people and sending 15 passengers to hospitals, authorities said.

The Chevrolet van, which was westbound on the highway about 4:50 a.m., had drifted toward the center divider, and when the driver overcorrected, he lost control, said Tom McCreary, commander of the California Highway Patrol's Barstow station.

"He could have fallen asleep; it could have been inattention," McCreary said.

Behind the driver and a front seat passenger were 18 people sitting on the floor of the van. No one wore a seat belt and all 20 were ejected when the van rolled several times, McCreary said.

A pair of skid marks veered off the highway, pointing to the white van, which landed upright in the desert about 200 feet away. The van had to be raised so coroner's officials could remove one of the bodies. Hats, shoes and duffel bags were strewn around the crumpled, windowless van.

"It was chaotic," McCreary said officers told him. "It was very much like a war zone."

One of the five people killed appeared to be a teenager, and the driver also died, authorities said. Sixteen of the victims were men, and of the four women, two were sisters, said CHP Officer Chuck Wagner.

Five passengers suffered major injuries and 10 had minor injuries. They were all taken to hospitals in Las Vegas and San Bernardino County.

The victims' names were not released because they provided conflicting names at the scene and at the hospitals. Three documents were found at the scene: a driver's license from Arizona; an identification card from Oaxaca, Mexico; and an identification card issued by a Mexican consulate.

CHP Lt. Oscar Medellin said officers believe the van began its trip in Oaxaca and went to Phoenix. Where it had crossed the border was not known.

"Do I believe they're illegal immigrants? Yes, probably," Medellin said.

"The first thing they want to do is protect themselves by providing a bogus name," he said. "They're afraid. The last thing they want to do is go home."

The van's California license plates, which authorities believe were stolen, belong to a Dodge van, McCreary said.

"There are a lot of unanswered questions of who they are, where they were going and where they're from," he said.

Last month in San Diego, a minivan carrying illegal immigrants and driven by a suspected smuggler hit a truck head-on, killing five people. In April, a U.S. Border Patrol chase in Desert Center ended in the crash of an SUV carrying 21 people suspected of being illegal immigrants, killing one.