Car pursued by border agents crashes, 3 hurt

By Greg Gross Union-Tribune Staff Writer
1:48 p.m. May 13, 2009

SAN DIEGO — A sedan that was briefly pursued by Border Patrol agents near Pine Valley crashed into a tree Wednesday morning, injuring three men, authorities said.

Two agents became suspicious when they spotted the silver 1995 Ford Taurus northbound on Sunrise Highway around the 22-mile marker shortly before 9:30 a.m., said Border Patrol agent Jerry Conlin.

The route is often used by migrant smugglers trying to evade the Border Patrol checkpoint on westbound Interstate 8 near the junction with Sunrise Highway.

When the agents tried to pull the car over, the driver sped off, Conlin said.

They agents pursued the Taurus a short distance but ended the chase when they felt that the car was traveling too fast for the road conditions, Conlin said.

There was no word on how fast the Taurus was going.

About four miles north of where the sedan was first spotted, other agents found that the Taurus had run into the tree, Conlin said.

Two men inside were injured seriously enough to require evacuation by medical helicopter, he said. A third was taken by ambulance to a hospital.
There was no word on their conditions, nor did Conlin have information on their immigration status.

Breaking News Team: (619) 293-1010; breaking@uniontrib.com

Greg Gross: (619) 293-1889;

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