All in I-17 wreck are suspected illegals
by Associated Press (July 15th, 2009 @ 6:13pm) Comments:54

PHOENIX - The driver of an SUV that overturned on I-17 north of Phoenix has been arrested and charged with human smuggling and other crimes, the Arizona Department of Public Safety said Thursday.

DPS said the driver, Geraldo Morales-Morales, 29, is a Mexican national, as are all of his seven passengers who were injured when the SUV left I-17 and rolled several times Wednesday evening. The vehicle landed upside down in the median.

The driver ran away from the crash scene. DPS said Morales-Morales was arrested about 11 p.m. Wednesday standing near a pay phone on the Carefree Highway about a mile from where the rollover happened.

In addition to human smuggling, Morales-Morales faces charges of money laundering and numerous counts of aggravated assault.

Six people riding in the SUV were ejected and seriously injured in the wreck. One person was still in the vehicle and had to be extricated.

DPS said the two most seriously injured are ages 15 and 16. They were flown to John C. Lincoln Hospital where they remained in critical condition Thursday. The rest of the injured passengers were adults.

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