Name: SUV in Deadly Crash That Killed 13 Came Through Hole in Border Fence: CBP
Uploaded: 2024-12-31T16:44:03.000Z
Description: HOLTVILLE, Calif.—Thirteen people killed in one of the deadliest border crashes on record were among more than 40 illegal immigrants who entered the United States through a hole cut into Southern California's border fence with Mexico, the Border Patrol said Wednesday.

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HOLTVILLE, Calif.—Thirteen people killed in one of the deadliest border crashes on record were among more than 40 illegal immigrants who entered the United States through a hole cut into Southern California's border fence with Mexico, the Border Patrol said Wednesday.

Surveillance video showed a Ford Expedition and Chevrolet Suburban drive through the opening early Tuesday, Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol's El Centro sector chief, told The Associated Press. It is believed they were part of a migrant smuggling operation.

The Suburban carried 19 people, and it caught fire for unknown reasons on a nearby interstate after entering the U.S. All escaped the vehicle and were taken into custody by Border Patrol agents.

The Expedition crammed with 25 people continued on, and a tractor-trailer struck it a short time later. Ten of the 13 killed have been identified as Mexican citizens. The rest of those in the SUV and the truck driver survived.

The Border Patrol said its agents were not pursuing the vehicle before the crash. The opening in the fence was about 30 miles east of the crash in the heart of California’s Imperial Valley, a major farming region.

It was made of steel bollards that were built before former President Donald Trump blanketed much of the border with taller barriers that go deeper into the ground.

“Human smugglers have proven time and again they have little regard for human life,” Bovino said. “Those who may be contemplating crossing the border illegally should pause to think of the dangers that all too often end in tragedy, tragedies our Border Patrol Agents and first responders are unfortunately very familiar with.”

The breach occurred in a busy area for illegal crossings near the Imperial Sand Dunes where illegal immigrants often climb over an aging barrier and wait for drivers to pick them up, hoping to avoid scrutiny of Border Patrol agents at checkpoints on highways leading to Los Angeles, San Diego and Phoenix. Border Patrol photos show a panel of eight steel poles was lifted out and left on the ground in the desert next to an old tire and other debris.

Law enforcement officers sort evidence and debris at the scene of a deadly crash in Holtville, Calif., on March 2, 2021. (Gregory Bull/AP Photo)

The cause of Tuesday's collision wasn't yet known, authorities said. The Expedition is built to hold eight people safely, but smugglers are known to pack people into vehicles in extremely unsafe conditions to maximize their profits.

Seats in the SUV had been removed except for those for the driver and front passenger, said Omar Watson, chief of the California Highway Patrol’s border division.

The crash happened during the height of the harvest in the agricultural region that provides much of the lettuce, onions, broccoli and winter vegetables to U.S. supermarkets. The community of Holtville where the crash occurred is a no-stoplight town with a gazebo in its large central square and calls itself the world's carrot capital.

The area became a major route for illegal border crossings in the late 1990s after heightened enforcement in San Diego pushed illegal immigrants to more remote areas. Many crossed the All-American Canal, an aqueduct that runs along the border and unleashes Colorado River water to farms through a vast network of canals.

Illegal crossings in the area fell sharply in the mid-2000s but the area has remained a draw for illegal immigrants and was a priority for wall construction under Trump. His administration's first wall project was in Calexico.

When police arrived Tuesday at the crash site about 125 miles east of San Diego, some passengers were trying to crawl out of the crumpled SUV. Others were wandering around the nearby fields. The big rig’s front end was pushed into the SUV’s left side and two empty trailers were jackknifed behind it.

“It was a pretty chaotic scene,” Watson said.

Law enforcement officers work at the scene of a deadly crash in Holtville, Calif., on March 2, 2021. (Gregory Bull/AP Photo)

Passengers in the SUV ranged in age from 15 to 53 and were a mix of men and women, officials said. The driver was from Mexicali, Mexico, just across the border, and was among those killed. The 68-year-old driver of the big rig, who is from the nearby California community of El Centro, was hospitalized with moderate injuries.

The passengers’ injuries ranged from minor to severe and included fractures and head trauma.

The crash occurred around 6:15 a.m. under a clear, sunny sky at an intersection just outside Holtville, about 11 miles north of the border. Authorities said the tractor-trailer was heading north on a highway when the SUV pulled in front of it from a road with a stop sign.

It’s not clear if the SUV ran a stop sign or had stopped before entering the highway. How fast both vehicle were going also wasn't yet known.

A 1997 Ford Expedition can carry a maximum payload of 2,000 pounds. If it had 25 people inside, that would easily exceed the payload limit, taxing the brakes and making it tougher to steer the vehicle, said Frank Borris, former head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation.

“You’re going to have extended stopping distances, delayed reactions to steering inputs and potential overreaction to any type of high-speed lane change,” said Borris, who now runs a safety consulting business.

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