TX: IAs in stolen van arrested in Rosenberg

Illegal immigrants in stolen van arrested in Rosenberg
Vehicle carrying at least 15 people crashes after police chase

By ERIC HANSON
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

ROSENBERG — Police arrested 15 illegal immigrants Wednesday after a stolen van they were in crashed after a short chase.

The incident happened about noon when a Rosenberg officer tried to stop the driver of a white Ford van near 8th Street and Avenue H on a routine traffic violation, Rosenberg police spokeswoman Lynn Munford said.

Instead of stopping, the driver continued on for a few blocks with police chasing. The van's driver crashed the vehicle in the back yard of a home along Tobola near Avenue N, Munford said.

After the crash, between 15 and 20 people rushed out of the van and tried to flee.

Munford said police captured 15 people, including the driver. Officers learned the occupants of the van, which had been stolen in Houston, were illegal immigrants.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were called and the 15 were handed over to federal officials for further investigation, Munford said.

Munford said police did not know where the van had come from or where the driver was going when the incident happened.
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