Thread: 4 dead, 27 hurt in rollover carrying up to 50 suspected IAs

Four dead, 27 hurt in rollover carrying up to 50 suspected immigrants

03:09 PM Mountain Standard Time on Sunday, April 27, 2008

azfamily.com / PCSO


Fatal freeway rollover south of Arizona City
azfamily.com

PHOTOS: Rollover scene
VIDEO: Deadly rollover
UNCUT: Investigator
RAW: Investigation

UPDATE from the Pinal County Sheriff's Office:

The vehicle, which was an older model Ford truck that rolled over at about 5:30 this morning in Arizona City, was carrying possibly 50 to 60 subjects.

When the rollover occurred, it is estimated that 20 to 30 people fled on foot in to the desert area and were never located. No arrests have been made at this point, but officers are looking for the driver who fled the scene.

We can't release the driver's info at this time. It is too early in the investigation to have names or nationalities, but it is strongly believed that this involved a load of undocumented aliens.

Again, 18 injured subjects were flown to area hospitals in Phoenix and Tucson and 9 were ground transported to Phoenix and Tucson hospitals. The four subjects confirmed deceased on scene were all male subjects. The investigation is ongoing, but it is believed that speed was the ultimate factor in this rollover and alcohol could have been a factor.

ORIGINAL REPORT:

ARIZONA CITY - As many as 50 suspected illegal immigrants were crammed aboard a standard-sized Ford pick-up truck involved in a serious rollover wreck.

It all happened at around 5:30 a.m. Sunday morning at the intersection of Sagittarius Street and Aries Drive just southwest of Arizona City between Tucson and Phoenix.

Pima County Sheriff’s deputies say the driver apparently failed to negotiate a turn at the intersection when the truck rolled, ejecting many of the passengers.

Four people are confirmed dead and 18 others were airlifted to hospitals in the Phoenix, Tucson and Casa Grande area with serious injuries. Deputies report another nine passengers were taken to hospital by ambulance.

Authorities report the driver of the pick-up truck fled the scene on foot and remains outstanding.

It is still unclear where the remaining passengers who were not injured are being held.

http://tinyurl.com/6x7bvp

Isn't this the second one in a matter of weeks. The others are not even out of the hospital. They're still in racking up bills for us to pay for their insanity.

nice to see the brightest newcomers rushing to enjoy free healthcare

30 to 50 in a pickup truck good way to save gas

and a few cold beers for the driver always a Mexican tradition

These types of accidents happen a lot in border states. The "poor illegals" who threw personal responsbliity out the window end up getting their medical bills paid by us.

65 comments left at the source link so far.
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April 27, 2008, 7:16PM
Arizona truck wreck involves 50-60 illegal immigrants


Associated Press

PHOENIX — A truck jammed with as many as 60 illegal immigrants crashed and rolled in a remote part of central Arizona on Sunday morning, killing four and injuring many, authorities said.

The truck was carrying possibly 50 to 60 people, an estimated 20 to 30 of whom fled the scene and have not been located, said Vanessa White, spokeswoman for the Pinal County Sheriff's Office.

No arrests have been made, but officers are looking for the driver, who also fled the scene. Investigators believe the people on board were illegal immigrants, White said.

Four males were pronounced dead at the scene, while 27 survivors were taken to hospitals. White did not know their conditions.

Speed and possibly alcohol are believed to be factors in the 5:30 a.m. crash near the town of Arizona City, about 60 miles south of Phoenix, White said. She did not have details on the truck.

Such crashes involving suspected illegal immigration are not uncommon. A collision in Texas killed three people just last month.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chr ... 34210.html

Apr 28, 5:08 PM EDT

Smuggler of immigrants in fatal Arizona crash at large

PHOENIX (AP) -- A man believed to be the smuggler of more than two dozen illegal immigrants who were killed or injured in a rollover crash in central Arizona was still at large Monday.

The pickup truck that the smuggler was driving was crammed with more than 30 people when it rolled over Sunday. Four were killed and 27 were injured, some critically.

Pinal County sheriff's spokeswoman Vanessa White said speed was the ultimate factor in the crash and that alcohol could have been a factor. Open beer containers were found on the passenger side of the truck.

The Pinal County Sheriff's Office originally reported that as many as 60 immigrants were in the truck.

But federal officials said Monday that a little more than 30 were in the crash. A separate group of illegal immigrants unrelated to the pickup was found nearby during the investigation.

The remote, desert area where the crash occurred is a common place for smugglers to hide their human cargo to await further transportation, Border Patrol spokesman Jose Gonzalez said.

He said his agency took four immigrants involved in the crash into custody after it was determined they didn't need further medical attention. They were two men and a woman from Mexico and a Guatemalan man, he said.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Vincent Picard called the rollover a tragedy.

"Obviously they were crammed in there in very unsafe conditions," he said. "These smuggling organizations are solely interested in maximizing profits, not in the safety of the people being smuggled."

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