Suspected immigrant smuggler rolls van
Accident » Nine injured; six transported by medical helicopters.

By Lindsay Whitehurst

The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 11/06/2009 06:44:36 PM MST

Nine people were hurt, at least three critically, when an SUV that may have been carrying undocumented immigrants crashed on State Road 24 early Thursday morning, police said.

The driver of a 2000 Chevrolet Suburban drifted off the northbound shoulder of the road about 20 miles north of Hanksville, said Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Cameron Roden.

The SUV came back onto the road, but skidded across both the north and southbound lanes. The driver lost control and the Suburban rolled several times.

Passengers told police the driver ran from the scene, leaving nine injured people behind, several of whom had been thrown from the vehicle. Someone called 911 about 5:20 a.m. When crews arrived, they found six people in serious to critical condition.

They were flown to two hospitals in three separate medical helicopters. Two passengers went to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo and four to Saint Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction, Colo.

The other three were transported by ground ambulance. Two went to Castle View Hospital in Price, and the third was treated at Green River Medical Center and released.

Investigators believe the driver may have fallen asleep while speeding, Roden said.

Passengers told police they were from Mexico and Arizona and headed for Colorado and Florida. The vehicle is registered in Arizona. Police are trying to identify the driver.

Based on interviews with the passengers and
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evidence at the scene, investigators believe the passengers were in the country illegally, Roden said.

The case was handed over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is investigating the crash, according to ICE spokeswoman Lori Haley.

Two of the people involved in the rollover were detained by ICE and are pending deportation, she said.

Roden did not immediately know the passengers' genders, ages or hometowns, but said they are all adults.

http://www.sltrib.com/Utah/ci_13732248