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Mexican Man Pleads Guilty To Transporting Illegal Workers

POSTED: 3:52 pm MDT May 15, 2005
UPDATED: 3:57 pm MDT May 15, 2005

DENVER -- A Mexican man has pleaded guilty to transporting illegal workers after a crash west of Del Norte in February that left nine people injured.

Ramiro Quintana-Ruiz entered his plea last week in U.S. District Court as part of a plea agreement in which he agreed to cooperate with authorities. He is to be sentenced July 18.

Samuel Alva-Hernandez, the other person charged in the episode, is scheduled to enter a guilty plea later to the same crime. Alva-Hernandez also is from Mexico.

The two men, six illegal aliens they were smuggling, and the driver of another car, Connie L. Whitehead, of Del Norte, were injured when their vehicles collided on U.S. 160.

Five were injured seriously and were airlifted to a suburban Denver hospital.

One of the six told U.S. Immigration officials that he had paid $1,700 in Mexico to be smuggled to the United States.