Thread: Driver in Sunday chase, crash faces human smuggling charges

Driver in Sunday chase, crash faces human smuggling charges

By Mark Arner
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
5:51 p.m. August 10, 2009

JAMUL – The 25-year-old driver of a Jeep Cherokee faces human smuggling charges after a crash that injured five people following a chase by U.S. Border Patrol agents, an agency spokesman said Monday.

The driver, identified as Osvaldo Contreras of San Diego, is scheduled to be arraigned on smuggling charges in U.S. District Court this week, said Agent Mark Endicott.

Contreras was still hospitalized with moderate injuries Monday, while three passengers, ranging in age from 18 to 30, also remained hospitalized with minor to serious injuries, Endicott said. A 23-year-old passenger was treated for minor injuries and released Monday, the spokesman said.

The chase began Sunday morning on Lyons Valley Road, near Peg Leg Mine Road, after the Border Patrol got a call about two men seen running out of heavy brush and climbing into a Jeep.

A Border Patrol agent initially tried to stop the SUV, but the driver sped off. The agent followed it onto state Route 94, lost sight of it and terminated the chase, Endicott said.

The speeding Jeep crashed roughly three miles later on state Route 94 just east of Steele Canyon Road. It snapped a telephone pole, shattered a sign and rolled over several times before stopping about 30 feet away from a 7-Eleven gas station, authorities said.

The crash ejected two passengers, ages 25 and 30, from the SUV, said Officer Brian Pennings of the California Highway Patrol.

Witnesses spotted two other passengers running from the crash, but they were caught minutes later by Border Patrol agents. The Jeep then caught fire and agents carried the two ejected passengers to a safe distance from the flames while another agent put out the fire with a fire extinguisher, Endicott said.

Mark Arner: (619) 293-1703;

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Just a guess on my part but I would say that when the driver gets out of jail he will be required to attend a drug rehab program.