I-70 accident prompts immigration investigation
By Kirk Mitchell The Denver Post

Article Last Updated: 12/22/2007 11:05:39 AM MST


Five suspected illegal immigrants were injured including an 8-year-old girl who was flown by helicopter with serious head injuries to a Denver hospital following an accident on icy Interstate-70, authorities say.

The girl, whose identity has not been released, was taken to St. Anthony Central Hospital following the one-vehicle rollover near Idaho Springs, said Chief Dave Wohlers of the Idaho Springs Police Department.

The other four injured people were taken to different Denver hospitals, Wohlers said.

"They were driving too fast for the conditions," Wohlers said.

The five injured people who were in an SUV traveling from Nevada to Nebraska.

There was a total of six people in the SUV including three adults and three children, Wohlers said.

The police department contacted the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement because the occupants of the SUV only had identification from Mexico, he said.

The Colorado State Patrol's Immigration Enforcement Unit also responded to the accident, Wohlers said.

The snowpacked and icy road have proven treacherous for many illegal immigrants who are not accustomed to driving in such winter conditions, he said.

Four people were killed in a Dodge minivan packed with 15 illegal immigrants in November of 2006 near Idaho Springs during a snowstorm.

In that case, the driver was eastbound on Interstate 70 when he lost control on a snowpacked curve in Idaho Springs, hit a tree and rolled the van over.

Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_7788059