Thread: Utah SUV With Immigrants Rolls, 6 Dead

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... 237D52.DTL

Utah SUV With Immigrants Rolls, 6 Dead

Monday, April 16, 2007

(04-16) 09:32 PDT Bluff, Utah (AP) --

A sport utility vehicle carrying illegal immigrants overturned Monday in southeastern Utah, killing six people and injuring eight others.

The vehicle rolled over on a road in a remote area near the Utah-Arizona line, said Lt. Todd Peterson of the Utah Highway Patrol. The driver was trying to avoid an animal when the vehicle went off the road, he said.

The driver fled the scene and was found hiding in the desert about two miles away, Peterson said. He was not immediately identified.

Looks like the death total went up & now seven injured as well. I wonder how they'll blame this on the Border Patrol.

http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=6376881

Eight dead in SUV rollover near Arizona-Utah border

BLUFF, Utah -- A sport utility vehicle believed to be carrying illegal immigrants rolled several times Monday in southeastern Utah's San Juan County, killing eight men and injuring seven others, authorities said.

One of the injured was in critical condition, hours after the 3:30 a.m. MST crash in a remote area near the Utah-Arizona border, said Trooper Preston Raban of the Utah Highway Patrol.

Federal immigration agents were investigating it as a possible case of human trafficking, he said.

SUV carrying suspected illegal immigrants in Utah rolls off rural road, killing 8

Apr 16, 2007
By: Associated Press -

BLUFF, Utah -- A sport utility vehicle carrying suspected illegal immigrants rolled several times in southeastern Utah on Monday, killing eight men and injuring seven others.

The driver was trying to avoid an animal when the vehicle went off the road in a remote area near the Utah-Arizona line, said Lt. Todd Peterson of the Utah Highway Patrol.

The vehicle carrying 15 people was registered to an owner in Mesa, Ariz., but driven by a 30-year-old man from Mexico, he said.


The driver, was not immediately identified, fled the scene and was found hiding in the desert about two miles away, Peterson said. He was being held at the San Juan County jail.

The injured were taken to hospitals in Utah, New Mexico and Colorado, Raban said. One was in critical condition, he said.

"It appears at this time that many of the occupants were not related and were not associated with one another in any way prior to this incident," Trooper Preston Raban.

The Mexican consulate and federal immigration officials were working to identify the victims and notify their relatives, Raban said.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/04 ... _16_07.txt

The injured were taken to hospitals in Utah, New Mexico and Colorado, Raban said. One was in critical condition, he said.

Don't worry about it boys, we've got it covered.

Eight dead in rollover; possible human trafficking

http://www.9news.com/news/world/article ... ryid=68212

BLUFF, Utah (AP) - A sport utility vehicle believed to be carrying illegal immigrants rolled several times Monday in southeastern Utah's San Juan County, killing eight men, authorities said.


Federal immigration agents were investigating it as a possible case of human trafficking.

"We will leave no stone unturned. Our top priority is identifying the person or persons responsible for this tragedy," said Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The Chevy Suburban carrying 15 people rolled on U.S. 191 when the driver tried to avoid an animal in the remote Four Corners area of Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico, said Lt. Todd Peterson of the Utah Highway Patrol.

The injured were taken to hospitals in Utah, New Mexico and Colorado. One of the injured was in critical condition, hours after the 3:30 a.m. MDT crash.

The driver fled the scene but was found hiding in the desert about two miles away.

He was identified as a 30-year-old from Guatemala, who was arrested and transported to the Utah County jail on immigration violations unrelated to the crash, Kice said.

Authorities were trying to learn the backgrounds of the 15 people. So far, it had been determined 11 were from Guatemala and three were from Mexico, she said.

"More than half the people were killed or injured. It's difficult to piece together the circumstances," Kice said. "This situation is complicated by the remoteness of the accident. We had to travel seven hours to get to the location."

The Suburban was registered to an owner in Mesa, Ariz., the Utah Highway Patrol said.

"It appears at this time that many of the occupants were not related and were not associated with one another in any way prior to this incident," Trooper Preston Raban said.

Sheriff Mike Lacy said his investigators estimate the vehicle rolled about five times.

On Oct. 11, 2005, a van loaded with 16 people, all but one in the U.S. illegally, rolled on U.S. 191 near Moab, killing two. The driver was sentenced to two years in federal prison.

Police: Survivors say driver in fatal crash was fondling female
Associated Press
BLUFF, Utah - The driver of a sport utility vehicle crammed with suspected illegal immigrants was fondling a female when he lost control and crashed, killing eight men, authorities said, based on accounts from survivors.

It contradicts the driver's claim that he was trying to avoid an animal when the Chevy Suburban rolled a few hours before dawn Monday in southeastern Utah.

"The passengers say no, he wasn't swerving to miss a horse, that he was fondling a female passenger in the front seat of the vehicle," Sgt. Rick Eldredge of the Utah Highway Patrol told The Salt Lake Tribune in a story posted on its Web site Tuesday.

The vehicle rolled several times on U.S. 191 in the Four Corners area of Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. Six people died at the scene. Two more later died, and six others were injured, one critically.

Their conditions were not immediately available Tuesday.

Authorities determined that 11 of the 15 people were from Guatemala and three were from Mexico. Federal agents were investigating the crash as a possible case of human trafficking.

The driver, a Guatemalan, was being held on immigration violations unrelated to the crash. He appeared to have a valid Arizona driver's license.

The Suburban was registered to an owner in Mesa, Ariz., UHP said.

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/87992

The driver, a Guatemalan, was being held on immigration violations unrelated to the crash. He appeared to have a valid Arizona driver's license.

Yup! And they expect to have CLEAN VOTING?????

Any question remaining as to whether or not ILLEGALS vote?

Survivors say driver in fatal crash was fondling female

Originally Posted by had_enuf

Survivors say driver in fatal crash was fondling female

Great headline in Mormon country.

8 suspected illegal immigrants die
Driver charged after rollover of SUV carrying 14 in Utah
The Associated Press
Updated: 5:32 p.m. PT April 17, 2007

SALT LAKE CITY - Federal authorities filed a criminal charge Tuesday against the driver of a sport utility vehicle that crashed in southeastern Utah, killing eight illegal immigrants packed inside.

Rigoberto Salas-Lopez, 30, was charged with one count of transporting illegal immigrants resulting in death. Eight of the 14 people in the Chevy Suburban died after it rolled several times on U.S. 191 a few hours before dawn Monday.

Authorities determined that the driver and passengers were from Guatemala and Mexico. Salas-Lopez was arrested after fleeing into the desert after the crash in the Four Corners area of Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado.

He said he was given the vehicle by a man in Phoenix who offered him $1,000 to drive the people to St. Louis from Phoenix, according to an affidavit by Timothy Chard, an agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Six killed, five injured
"Salas also stated that he knew the individuals in the vehicle were from Mexico and Guatemala and that they were in the United States illegally," Chard wrote.

Six men and two women were killed. Four men and one woman were injured and taken to hospitals.

Some survivors told agents that Salas-Lopez was fondling a woman before the crash -- accounts that contradict his claim that he was trying to avoid hitting an animal.

"According to interviews by ICE that potentially was not the case," said Lt. Todd Peterson of the Utah Highway Patrol. "The driver was involved in fondling or groping a female in the vehicle and that was the potential reason for the distracted driving."

But Peterson added that some survivors did mention a horse or some other animal in the road.

Salas-Lopez will appear Wednesday in federal court in Salt Lake City. If convicted, the possible penalties range from prison to a death sentence.

Popular route for illegal immigrants
The highways and back roads of southeastern Utah are popular corridors to move illegal immigrants and drugs, said Peterson, who is the police agency's area lieutenant for San Juan and Grand counties.

"It's a daily occurrence," he said.

"We are limited as to what our response can be when we encounter these individuals. Our local jails and correctional facilities cannot house the number of people we're dealing with and ICE has limited resources," Peterson said. "It's a Catch-22 situation."

He said he oversees eight troopers and sergeants for a two-county area that includes 650 miles of state roads.

On Oct. 11, 2005, a van loaded with 16 people, all but one in the U.S. illegally, rolled on U.S. 191 near Moab in Grand County, killing two. The driver was sentenced to two years in federal prison.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18160513/