Published: 08.25.2006

Family members tend migrant couple injured in rollover
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHOENIX - The family of a couple critically injured in the Aug. 7 crash of a suspected smuggler's SUV that killed 11 other illegal immigrants blame the Border Patrol, not the suspected smuggler, for their injuries.

Luis Olivos Gomez, 30, and his wife, Teresa Chavez, 21, of Zamora, Mexico, remain hospitalized in Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix, as does the couple's infant child, born prematurely by Caesarean section after the accident.

Olivos remains in a coma; Chavez has taken a few fledgling steps as she recovers from her injuries, but still hasn't spoken and has no recollection of the accident.

Tending to the couple and their daughter are Olivos' mother and brother, Soledad Gomez and her son, Victor Hugo Olivos, of Michoacan, Mexico.

Border Patrol agents pursuing the Chevrolet Suburban carrying Gomez, Chavez and 18 other migrants north of Yuma placed spike strips in its path, and the driver swerved to avoid the obstacle and the truck rolled several times. Including the driver, there were 21 people packed into the SUV.

Five migrants died at the scene, and five others died at hospitals. One of the dead was a pregnant 17-year-old from Zamora, and authorities are counting her fetus as the 11th fatality in the crash. The victims were all from Mexico or El Salvador.

"This is an injustice," Victor Hugo said from his brother's bedside. "Why did they use spikes to stop them? These were human beings, not armed criminals. They could have followed the vehicle until it ran out of gas."

The Mexican man accused of driving the SUV, Adan Pineda Doval, 20, of Guetamo, was indicted this week by a federal grand jury. He faces 10 counts of causing the death of migrants while illegally transporting them, a crime that carries a potential life sentence. He's also charged with one count of endangering the lives of other migrants injured in the crash.

A Border Patrol spokesman said the spike strips are used to safely deflate a tire and said agents used them appropriately.

"I absolutely, 100 percent believe the spike strips were used in a safe manner," said spokesman Lloyd Frers. "The driver saw them, quite obviously, and still crashed because he was still trying to break the law and get away."

Soledad and Victor Hugo said the family doesn't have the money to pay the hospital bills.

They said Luis was trying to get to Phoenix in hopes of getting a gardening job. Now, he's comatose and on a respirator. The crash caused multiple fractures in his cranium and face, broke his lower left leg and snapped the tendon on his right knee. It sheared the flesh on his left arm and ripped open the left side of his chest.

Doctors plan to send Luis and Teresa back to Mexico as soon as they are stable, Soledad and Victor Hugo said. They don't know who will raise the healthy baby girl named Maria Soledad de los Milagros, or Maria Soledad of the Miracles, by her grandparents.

The consulates of Mexico and El Salvador have identified all the victims and notified their families.

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