At least 13 dead and several including children injured
after Ford SUV ‘with 25 immigrants crammed inside’ crashes into a gravel truck near the Mexican border in California
AENN
- The Imperial County Fire Department was called to a ‘mass fatality incident’ just after 6:15am, on Highway 115, in Southern California this morning
- A Ford Expedition SUV was driving westbound on Norrish Road when it traveled ‘in the direct path’ of a big rig truck heading northbound on 115
- Officials say the vehicle was carrying 25 passengers but only equipped to seat six
- At least 13 people have died and several others were hurt, including an undisclosed number of children
- Five were airlifted to a nearby hospital, three of whom are now in intensive care
- Officials said they believed all of the victims are undocumented migrants
By LUKE KENTON FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
At least 13 people were killed Tuesday morning when an SUV stuffed with 25 suspected undocumented immigrants, including children, collided with a semi-truck in Southern California.
The crash occurred on State Route 115 in the area of El Centro, 10 miles north of the US-Mexico border, at around 6:15am local time, authorities said.
The SUV, a maroon Ford Expedition carrying 25 passengers, had been driving westbound on Norrish Road when it traveled ‘in the direct path’ of a gravel truck heading northbound on 115. Read More
Twelve people were found dead at the scene, including the driver of the Ford, and another victim died after arriving at El Centro Regional Medical Center, California Highway Patrol Chief Omar Watson said.
An area hospital had initially said at least 15 had died, but CHP later clarified the numbers.
Several other passengers of the SUV were also hurt, including an undisclosed number of children.
At least five of the injured were airlifted from the scene, three of whom are currently in intensive care at the trauma center of Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs.
The dead include some Mexican citizens, officials said, who ranged in age between 20 and 55. The injured, meanwhile, are aged between 16 and 55.
Earlier Tuesday, chief executive officer of El Centro Regional, Dr. Adolphe Edward, said he believed that all the victims in the SUV were undocumented migrants. The claim is yet to be confirmed by authorities.
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A Ford Expedition SUV (seen above) reported to be carrying 27 passengers on board had been travelling westbound on Norrish Road when it traveled ‘in the direct path’ of a gravel truck heading northbound on 115
A spokesman for the California Highway Patrol said that the driver of the truck suffered only minor injuries. It’s unclear if he sought treatment at a hospital
Several other passengers of the SUV were hurt, including an undisclosed number of children
Dr. Adolphe Edward, the chief executive officer of El Centro Regional, said he believed that all the victims in the SUV were undocumented migrants
Twelve people were found dead at the scene, Judy Cruz, the managing director of the emergency department at the El Centro Regional Medical Center said at a news conference
All lanes of northbound and southbound SR-115 at Norrish Road are closed, and motorists are told to avoid the area
