http://www.heraldsun.com/nationworld/in ... 22532.html

Illegal Immigrants Killed in Border Crash
Jul 1, 2005 : 6:38 am ET

EL CAJON, Calif. -- Five illegal immigrants were killed and six others injured when their van collided with a pickup truck shortly after it sped around a border checkpoint, authorities said.

The accident happened Thursday night when a Chrysler minivan carrying 11 illegal Mexican immigrants swerved into the opposite lane on a rural road near the Mexican border, said highway patrolman Brian Pennings.

Several miles earlier, the minivan also swerved into the opposite lane to avoid the Border Patrol checkpoint, Pennings said. The checkpoint is near a popular illegal border crossing, he said.

Border Patrol officers were not pursuing the van when the accident happened, Pennings said.

The driver of the truck, a 69-year-old San Diego woman, was hospitalized with moderate injuries. Six immigrants were injured, some of them critically, officials said.

Three victims were pronounced dead at the scene; a woman and a 10-year-old girl died of their injuries a short time later at local hospitals, Pennings said.

The driver of the minivan was in police custody at a hospital, Pennings said.