Fatal accident may have involved immigrant smuggling vehicle
July 14, 2008 - 5:04PM
BY JAMES GILBERT, SUN STAFF WRITER
A suspected alien smuggler died Sunday morning after being ejected from the vehicle he was driving near State Route 78 near Palo Verde, Calif.

"No one was in pursuit of the vehicle at the time," said Mark Pearce of the California Highway Patrol. "It was traveling on its own at the time."

According to Pearce, the vehicle, a 2002 Chevrolet Suburban, being driven by 18-year-old Irvis Jael Gonzalez, was traveling east on Midway Well Road toward State Route 78 at a high rate of speed and was carrying about 20 passengers.

Gonzalez, who ran a stop sign at the intersection, is believed to have attempted to turn left onto State Route 78 at approximately 7:38 a.m. and lost control of the vehicle, causing it to slide sideways.

The vehicle then overturned and ejected Gonzalez, who was not wearing his seatbelt. He died while two other passengers also sustained major injuries.

Pearce said the two passengers who sustained the major injuries, now identified as Alejandro Herrera, 36, and Norelli Suchiden, 20, of Oaxaca, Mexico, were airlifted from the scene and flown to Desert Memorial Hospital in Palm Springs.

Another passenger in the vehicle, Jose E. Zamora Garcia, 23, of Jalisco, Mexico, sustained moderate injuries.

Following the accident several individuals fled the scene on foot out into the open desert, according to Pearce.

"It seemed the vehicle was loaded with numerous passengers," Pearce said. "We had several individuals who fled the scene after the accident."

Pearce added that Border Patrol agents from Blythe also responded to the scene and deployed both ground and air units to search for the fleeing passengers. He did not know if and how many had been captured.

Pearce went on to say while the cause of the accident is still under investigation, they believe the speed at which Gonzalez was traveling and the number of passengers in the vehicle may have contributed to the accident.

While he could not confirm it, Pearce said it is suspected the driver was a coyote transporting illegal immigrants in the vehicle.

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James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854.









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