Thread: OK: 7 Killed In I-40 Crash Near Elk City

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar ... 40430/1003

Detroit woman identified as one of five allege illegal immigrants killed in Oklahoma van crash

Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Oklahoma Highway Patrol on Tuesday identified five passengers whom federal authorities allege were illegal immigrants being smuggled to North Carolina when they were killed in a traffic accident on icy roads in Oklahoma.

Killed in the crash were: Jamie Olivera-Martinez, 16, of Mexico; Eduardo Moreno-Castillo, 24, of Mexico; Diego Castillo-Moreno, 28, of Mexico; Filomena Perez-Yasi, 44, of Detroit; and Joel Mercado-Hernandez, 34, of Mexico.

The highway patrol previously identified the driver, 32-year-old Miguel Marquez-Vargas, and passenger Francisco Marquez-Vargas, 19, both of Acaxochitland, Mexico.

The seven deaths occurred as the group was headed east on Interstate 40 when their Chevrolet Astro van hit a patch of ice, slid across the center median and collided with a westbound tractor-trailer on Jan. 14 in Washita County. The crash happened about 3:50 a.m., when there was limited visibility and freezing rain in the area.

A total of 12 people were in the van.

Gaudencio P. Perez, 17, of Mexico, remains in serious condition at Great Plains Regional Medical Center in Elk City, as does Eurgencio V. Gonzalez, 20, of Durham, N.C., troopers said.

Pedro Valdez, 56, of Mexico; Sergio Yanez-Martinez, age and address unknown, and Mitxi Vasquez, 21 of Mexico, were treated for head and internal injuries at the hospital and released last week, the patrol said.

After his release from the hospital, Valdez was taken into custody by federal authorities.

The van was heading from Nogales, Ariz., to North Carolina, along what federal authorities described as a common smuggling route.

Carl Rusnok, a spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Dallas office, said then the van was "a smuggling vehicle.

"These people were being smuggled and transported illegally."

A call to Rusnok about whether the surviving occupants would face any criminal charges wasn't immediately returned on Tuesday.

The seven were among 32 people who died when a slow-moving winter storm pounded Oklahoma and surrounding states with ice, sleet, snow and cold temperatures. Most of the deaths, 19, occurred on Oklahoma highways, state officials said.

Maybe we should get as many people involved in every town a death happens by an illegal , have them cut it out of the local paper and mail it to congress and the white house, I don't think they read the news papers or watch the news, because they don't want to know whats happening in our town, they may have to face reality.

Detroit woman identified as one of five allege illegal immigrants killed in Oklahoma van crash

Looks like I need a little help with geography. So is Detroit somewhere between Nogales, Ariz., and North Carolina

Gaudencio P. Perez, 17, of Mexico, remains in serious condition at Great Plains Regional Medical Center in Elk City, as does Eurgencio V. Gonzalez, 20, of Durham, N.C., troopers said.

All together now, (to the tune of Sonny & Cher's And The Beat Goes On) and the bills go on and the bills go on.