US: Over a dozen dead after SUV carrying 27 crashes, human smuggling probe launched

In one of the most nerve-chilling accidents, a Ford Expedition SUV carrying 27 people onboard pulled in front of a semi-truck towing two trailers that left several dead and dozens of others hospitalised near the US-Mexico border. The fatal crash occurred in a rural California county on Tuesday morning and was captured in an overhead video. According to the law enforcement officers called at the scene, during the deadly collision, the SUV was entirely crushed as trailers jackknifed against the traction of the truck cab. Sources on the ground told reporters of the Associated Press that the officers declared at least 13 dead. 

When the police arrived, the truck rig’s front had pierced into the car badly that left the passengers inside stranded, some of whom, injured and bleeding attempted to crawl out of the damaged vehicles. Several others who were launched at a distance were wounded and lay on the ground in pain as the street engulfed with cries for help. An official told AP in a statement that most casualties were Mexicans. The first responders said that when they reached, most were found dead lying on the two-lane highway that is surrounded by agricultural fields. The mishap occurred at the southeastern corner of California about 125 miles (201 kilometers) east of San Diego. California Highway Patrol Chief Omar Watson told reporters that a person, critically injured, succumbed on the way to the hospital.

“It was a pretty chaotic scene,” Watson told reporters on the ground. “A very sad situation,” he further described. 

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[Law enforcement officers work at the scene of a deadly crash in Holtville, Calif. Credit: AP]

[Credit: AP]

[Credit: AP]

Human smuggling probe launched

A Mexican director of North American affairs for Mexico’s Foreign Relations Department, Roberto Velasco confirmed on his Twitter handle that 10 of those that died in the horrendous car-truck accident were Mexicans. The police, although, is yet to release the identity of the deceased. Police launched a probe into the matter to determine the cause of the accident. It was not immediately made clear why the SUV built for a capacity of 8 was carrying 27 people at the border. Offers suspect the SUV was carrying migrants who had crossed the border.

“Special agents from Homeland Security Investigations San Diego responded and have initiated a human smuggling investigation,” Homeland Security said in a statement. A spokesman for Customs and Border Protection, Macario Mora said that at this time, the immigration status of the passengers is unclear. “It was an unusual number of people in an SUV, but we don’t know who they were,” the spokesperson said. Among those dead were people of age group across 15 to 53, including both males and females and the 68-year-old driver was a resident of Mexicali, from across the border. The truck’s driver, meanwhile, is a resident of El Centro and he sustained minor injuries. 

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