Thread: 9 Suspected Illegal Aliens Dead In Rollover Crash

Aug 7, 8:34 PM EDT


9 dead in SUV rollover southeast of Phoenix

By ARTHUR H. ROTSTEIN and CHRIS KAHN
Associated Press Writers


FLORENCE, Ariz. (AP) -- A sport utility vehicle packed with illegal immigrants rolled over Thursday on a rural highway southeast of Phoenix, killing nine people and injuring another 10, according to federal and state authorities.

The crash was the latest tragedy along the web of rural roadways often used as smuggling routes between Tucson and Phoenix. Authorities say immigrant smugglers have increasingly kept off the interstates to stay out of sight, even though the bumpy, narrow roads they use as alternatives are tougher to negotiate at high speeds.

"We have cause to believe that this was a human smuggling operation, and so the people involved were illegally in the United States," said Vinnie Picard, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"The smuggler doesn't care if their cargo lives or dies," Border Patrol spokesman Rob Daniels said. "All they care is that they get paid."

Nineteen people were in the SUV that rolled on State Route 79, about 15 miles southeast of Florence, said Bart Graves, an Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman. The 10 injured were flown to hospitals in Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tucson.

The dead and injured were all trapped inside the crumpled white SUV and had to be extricated by rescue crews.

DPS Lt. Mike Corbin said the Chevrolet Suburban was heading north just before 8 a.m. Thursday when it ran off the road, crossed a dry wash and slammed into a concrete abutment on the other side and flipped over. The roof caved in when the SUV rolled.

All but two of the victims were men. The two women both died at the scene, Corbin said.

Officer Carmen Figueroa said authorities are still trying to determine which of the crash victims was the driver but they believe he survived.

"We have officers at the hospitals right now trying to find that out from the occupants in the vehicle," Figueroa said.

The narrow highway, which runs through a scenic cactus forest to the eastern outskirts of metro Phoenix, has become a popular route for immigrant smugglers desperate to avoid the Border Patrol.

Authorities said they regularly stop vehicles loaded with undocumented people racing along State Route 79 and other northbound roadways in Arizona, though few have been as tragic as Thursday's crash.

Nationally, 32 people have died in car crashes involving illegal immigrants during the Border Patrol's fiscal year that began Oct. 1. Those statistics don't include the nine victims who died outside of Florence.

Daniels said most "load" vehicles are not only packed with immigrants, but they typically are in terrible shape, riding on bald tires with faulty transmissions and altered suspensions. Racing through twisty stretches of rural Arizona can be particularly perilous in cars like that, he said.

"Have you ever driven on one of those roads that's up and down and up and down, and your vehicle gets a little squirrelly on you?" Daniels said. "Imagine if that vehicle is overloaded. It'll react a lot more violently."

In 2006, 10 people died when a Suburban carrying 20 illegal immigrants rolled over near Yuma, Ariz. The driver was later sentenced to life in federal prison.

In April, one woman died when a van carrying 32 illegal immigrants rolled near Interstate 10. The driver was charged with criminal counts including illegally transporting immigrants for profit. His case is pending in federal court.

The 19 people in Thursday's crash were crammed into a Suburban with two bucket seats in front and three in the back, Corbin said.

"It's tough, it's tight, but this is typical of the smuggling organizations," Corbin said. "They're just product to them."

Also in the vehicle were numerous backpacks holding personal belongings.

Craig Fischer, a spokesman for Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix, said the hospital received four survivors and they were in good condition.

Judy Keane, a spokeswoman for Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix, confirmed two survivors were treated there but could not give any information about their condition.

DPS said at least one patient was also taken to Scottsdale Healthcare Osborne Hospital. A spokeswoman said she could not confirm that information.

Darci Slaten, a spokeswoman at University Medical Center in Tucson, said the hospital received three patients, all Hispanic males in their 20s or 30s. Two of the men were listed in critical condition. A third was listed in serious condition after surgery for a leg fracture.

ICE agents investigated the suspicions that the SUV was a human smuggling vehicle, based on the large number of people crammed into the vehicle and because of the highway where the accident occurred, Picard said.

"We're still conducting some interviews. We have a possible suspect ID'd as the driver," added Picard. "(But) we can't discuss any nationalities at this point."

Corbin said a witness who was driving in front of the crashed SUV reported that it was approaching him at a high rate of speed when it veered off the roadway.


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1) They are putting other people at risk by driving so fast over these roads. There is no end to how selfish these people are.

2) If we raise the risk of coming here high enough, they will be forced to change their own country for the better. That's the real solution to their problem.

Not that this accident alone wasn't bad enough but, it could have been much worse had the smuggler/driver taken a bunch of American citizens with them all. Of course...the Government of Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, etc., wouldn't think of apologizing to the U.S. for any of this. We'd somehow get blamed for allowing it to occur in the first place, meaning...if we had WIDE OPEN BORDERS in the first place, smuggling wouldn't take place and all foreigners would be able to enter our country safely. Goody

It's analogous to us (The USA) not providing water stations and shelters along the smuggling routes out in the desert. WE seemed to get attacked for every senseless illegal alien death that occurs on our side of the border.

Originally Posted by wc_roughrider64

Not that this accident alone wasn't bad enough but, it could have been much worse had the smuggler/driver taken a bunch of American citizens with them all. Of course...the Government of Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, etc., wouldn't think of apologizing to the U.S. for any of this. We'd somehow get blamed for allowing it to occur in the first place, meaning...if we had WIDE OPEN BORDERS in the first place, smuggling wouldn't take place and all foreigners would be able to enter our country safely. Goody

It's analogous to us (The USA) not providing water stations and shelters along the smuggling routes out in the desert. WE seemed to get attacked for every senseless illegal alien death that occurs on our side of the border.

WELCOME to alipac "wc_roughrider64" thanks for joining in and getting involved.

Just want to say, very good point and so true!

Welcome WC_Roughrider!! Glad you joined us.

We all agree, it seems no matter what we do in this nation to help out and benefit other nations (I'd say they were less fortunate, but it's more about willpower to stand up to tyranny in their own nation), they blame us for pretty much everything bad, as though we are supposed to make all good for them.