Two arrested in connection with Three Flags incident in Salton City

October 28, 2011|By SILVIO J. PANTA | Staff Writer


SALTON CITY — A 26-year-old suspected undocumented immigrant was injured Wednesday while riding in a pickup that was fleeing a U.S. Border Patrol agent.

The unnamed man has been released from the hospital, an official said Thursday.

The driver of the Ford F-150 pickup and another person were arrested by Border Patrol authorities in connection with the incident, Border Patrol Agent Adrian Corona said.

It wasn’t known if the injured man fell off, jumped off or was pushed off of the truck during the incident that was reported Wednesday shortly after 1:15 p.m. at Three Flags Ranch off northbound Highway 86, Corona said.

Border Patrol agents often patrol the area between the Salton Sea and the Highway 86 checkpoint, Corona said. It was there that an agent encountered the vehicle, which then sped away, Corona said.

Corona said he believes the man was flown for treatment to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs. The extent of the man’s injuries weren’t known.

The injured man and seven other suspected undocumented immigrants have been detained by the Border Patrol as witnesses, Corona said.

In an apparently unrelated case, two black duffel bags containing 37 packages of marijuana that carried an estimated value of more than $75,000 were found while Border Patrol agents were tracking suspected undocumented immigrants trying to circumvent the Highway 86 checkpoint.

No one was arrested in connection with the seizure and the marijuana was turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration, a press statement read.

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