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1 dead, 15 hurt when SUV being chased rolls

Associated Press
Mar. 16, 2006 03:37 PM

An SUV packed with illegal immigrants being chased by the U.S. Border Patrol crashed on Interstate 8 east of Yuma early Thursday, killing one migrant and injuring 15 others and the suspected smuggler, officials said.

The driver of the Chevrolet Suburban didn't stop at a Border Patrol checkpoint on I-8 at about 6 a.m., Agent Michael Gramley said.

Agents chased after the SUV and caught up with it, but the driver refused to stop, Gramley said. He wasn't driving at excessive speeds or endangering the public, so Border Patrol rules requiring a pursuit to be called off weren't met.

Agents in front of the SUV put a spike strip in the road, and the driver swerved to avoid it and rolled into the highway median.

One woman was killed when she was thrown from the SUV. Fifteen other migrants suffered injuries, Gramley said, and were taken to Yuma Regional Medical for treatment. Three were not hurt.

The smuggler ran away from the wreck, but agents tracked him down and arrested him. He was found to be critically injured, and was in the Intensive Care Unit Thursday afternoon with major head trauma, Gramley said.

It's not unusual to see SUVs crammed with illegal immigrants, Gramley said, but the practice is inherently dangerous.

"Usually they either remove the seats, on in these (Suburbans) they fold the seats down to the floor so they can pack their human cargo in as tight as they can," Gramley said. "That makes it difficult to handle the vehicle and leaves the people in back without seat belt restraints.

Six of the 20 occupants were still hospitalized Thursday afternoon, including the smuggler. The others were released to the Border Patrol after treatment.