Authorities Find 18 Suspected Illegal Immigrants Near Demolished Vehicle

Last Update: 4/14 9:10 am

Authorities investigating an empty, demolished vehicle that flipped in the hills near Alpine found 18 suspected illegal immigrants hiding nearby.

Border Patrol spokesman Richard Smith says the vehicle struck a Japatul Road guardrail at dawn Sunday and rolled over in the rural San Diego County area. The occupants ran away.

The California Highway Patrol and Border Patrol investigating the crash followed footprints into the hilly area and found 18 people who were believed to have been in the vehicle when it crashed.

Smith says four of them were taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries and the remaining 14 were taken to a Border Patrol station for questioning.

There are no other details.

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