An SUV carrying more than two dozen people crashed near the US-Mexico border on Tuesday morning. At least 13 people were killed and many more were injured in the clashes between the two sides, officials said.
The number of people traveling in both SUVs and the number of victims are unclear. Judy Cruz, director of the emergency department at El Centro Regional Medical Center, said there were 28 people in the vehicle.
But Arturo Platoro, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol’s El Centro office fee, said there were 25 people inside the Ford Expedition SUV, designed for seven or eight passengers. He said the vehicle was carrying at least one teenager.
Hospital officials initially reported 14 deaths at the scene, but CHP officials later said there were 12 deaths, and another died at El Centro Regional Medical Center.
Four people were transported by helicopter to the Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, including a large reggae driver, Platoro said. Three of them are in intensive care, said Todd Burke, the hospital’s public information officer.
Cruz said three people were moved to the Pioneers Memorial Hospital in Brawley, about 20 miles away, and six others were being treated at the El Centro Regional, Cruz said.
“Patients are, of course, going through some difficult times,” said Adolf Edwards, chief executive of the El Centro Regional. “It was a big accident, and we’re taking care of them in the emergency room department.”
CHP officials said the people inside the vehicle were between the ages of 16 and 55.
Photos of the scene show a burgundy SUV, with the driver’s side wrapped in front of a large rag that was stopping the two trailers. The SUV’s windshield is broken, and debris is scattered on the ground around both vehicles.
Several passengers were dropped off on the roadway in the collision, CHP officials said.
Dr. of El Centro Regional Medical Center. Chevonne Borkart said the injuries ranged from fractures to fatal head and chest injuries. The hospital is relocating patients to other treatment centers as soon as they are stable, he said.
“Our staff has done a tremendous job of being able to prepare everything for these patients and move them to the right place as soon as possible, or if we can take care of them here, they are being taken very well. Levy, ”Borchard said.
Deputy Fire Chief Sal Flores said the Imperial County Fire Department and the County Office of Emergency Services responded to the “mass casualty incident” at 6:16 p.m.
According to the agency’s spokesman, CHP Officer Jack Sanchez, the SUV was heading west on Norris Road at the intersection of State Highway 115 and drove off on a large rag road for “unknown reasons,” according to agency spokesman Jack Sanchez. Border section.
The speed limit for large trucks on that stretch of road is 55 mph, and the truck has an S.O.V.
“We are not sure if there is a vehicle [SUV] Drive a stop sign or the vehicle stops and enters unsafely. We are still not sure, “said Plato.
Fifteen first responders and five fire engines arrived at the scene just north of Holtville, Flores said.
El Centro Fire Department and Customs and Border Patrol officials also assisted the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office fees at the scene.
Flores said Highway 115 is currently blocked northbound from Holtville.
Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-San Francisco) said it was “heartbreaking” to learn of the fatal tragedy.
“My office is monitoring the fee situation as we learn more about this horrific tragedy,” Feinstein said in a statement. “Thanks to the Imperial County Fire Department and other first responders for their prompt response and the various medical centers in the area that treat injured passengers.”
For decades, the death toll in crashes on the California-Mexico border has been a source of concern. Immigrants trying to enter Europe include a lot of useless work, with a significant number of crashes during chases by American authorities.
There is no evidence that the collision involved a chase. “There was no business,” Platoro said.
A 2018 Los Angeles Times-PropBallica investigation found that over a three-year period, U.S. Border Patrol agents are involved in more than 500 businesses in the border districts of California, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Of those, one in three ended in a crash. Concerns have also been raised about the deaths of farm laborers in vehicles in California’s agricultural areas, such as Imperial County and Central Valley.
The law was introduced in the early 2000s in a series of horrific crashes involving farm laborers in the Central Valley, requiring vans and buses to equip nine or more workers with passenger seat belts and obtain an annual safety certificate from California Highway Patrol. The law has also increased penalties for growers and increased education programs.
Mario Cario Mora, a spokesman for the Yuma and Al Centro sector of Customs and Border Protection, told the Times in a statement that agency employees were not chasing or following the SUV at the time of Tuesday’s crash, but the location was responded to by a request from the Royal County Sheriff’s Office. .
CBP personnel were not involved in the mishap, Mora said. Although some news outlets have published information indicating the victims’ immigration status, Mora said this is a speculation and the agency did not have those details at the time.
“We don’t use the term undocumented in hospitals,” said Edward, El Centro Medical CEO. “For us, these are the patients who came to us.”
