Six remain hospitalized following rollover near Falfurrias

January 26, 2010 10:54 PM
Ana Ley
The Monitor

McALLEN — The driver in a rollover crash that injured several suspected illegal immigrants remained hospitalized Tuesday evening, days after he and 15 others were thrown from a slow-moving vehicle.

Since the rollover occurred Friday evening, 10 people have been released from hospitals in the Rio Grande Valley. All have been determined to be in the country illegally, said U.S. Border Patrol spokesman Joe Treviño. One woman, who also remained hospitalized Tuesday evening, was rushed to San Antonio to receive treatment for back injuries. Officials could not specify the severity of her injuries.

The rollover occurred as Border Patrol agents attempted to pull over a white Chevrolet pickup truck near the intersection of Farm-to-Market Road 755 and U.S. Highway 281 in Rachal, about 20 miles south of Falfurrias.

The force of the crash threw all of the vehicle’s 16 occupants clear of the truck, leaving them injured and strewn across a grassy area. Fifteen of the people — including the pickup’s driver — were taken to hospitals in Hidalgo and Starr counties after the wreck. The 16th was the woman taken to San Antonio.

“Their country of origin varies,â€