The US Department of Immigration and Customs (ICE) announced on Tuesday that the agents are conducting an investigation of human smuggling and were at the site of a devastating accident in California that left at least 13 dead, according to the agency.
The investigation was announced after human smugglers and 25 illegal immigrants huddled together in a single SUV, which collided with a large platform and left bodies strewn on a road near the US-Mexico border on Tuesday, a source from Fronteira told Fox News.
“Special agents from Homeland Security Investigations San Diego responded … and started an investigation into the smuggling of people,” said ICE in a statement.
‘MASS CASUALTY’ CRASH IN CALIFORNIA INVOLVED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS smugglers SAYS SOURCE OF BORDER PATROL
Police officers work at the scene of a fatal accident in Holtville, California, on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. Authorities say a semi-truck crashed into an SUV carrying 25 people on a Southern California highway, killing at least least 13 people. (AP Photo / Gregory Bull)
The police arrived to find some of the passengers trying to crawl out of the 1997 Ford Expedition – which normally seats eight – while others were roaming the nearby fields. Authorities added that the rear seats of the SUV were removed to create more space for passengers.
California Highway Patrol officers (CHP) found 12 people killed at the scene. Another person died at a local hospital, officials said. The other eight injured victims were transported to local hospitals.
“It was a very chaotic scene,” said CHP chief Omar Watson.
Mexican consulate officials confirmed that at least 10 of the people killed in the accident were Mexicans, according to a tweet from Roberto Velasco, director of US affairs for the Mexican Department of Foreign Affairs.
Those in the vehicle were 15 to 53 years old, officials said. Authorities are still working to confirm the nationality of three individuals, the reports say.
“We will continue to work closely with the authorities to help the Mexican dead and wounded,” added Velasco.
The collision occurred at an intersection near Holtville, California, about 11 miles north of the US-Mexico border, officials said. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sources told Fox News that the accident happened after a hole was cut in the border fence near Calexico, California.
The area is known for smuggling. Migrants who died after crossing the border are buried in unidentified graves in the Holtville cemetery on the outskirts of the city.
Police officers work at the scene of a fatal accident in Holtville, California, on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (AP Photo / Gregory Bull)
Earlier on Wednesday, the immigration status of all passengers was unknown, officials said. Macario Mora, a CBP spokesman, noted that the agents were not chasing the SUV at the time of the accident.
Dr. Adolphe Edward, medical director of El Centro Regional Medical Center, said at the hospital press conference that they “do not use the term undocumented in hospitals”.
“For us, these people who came to us are patient,” he added.
The Ford Expedition reportedly entered an intersection right in front of the big rig before hitting the left side of the SUV, which appeared to have been pushed off the road, according to the CHP. The two vehicles stopped on a dirt shoulder.
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Authorities still do not know whether the SUV driver stopped at a stop sign before crossing the big platform at around 6:15 am, Watson told reporters. It was also not immediately known why so many people were huddled in a vehicle built to accommodate eight people.
“It was an unusual number of people in an SUV, but we don’t know who they were,” said Mora.
If 25 people had been on the 1997 Ford Expedition, it would easily have exceeded the £ 2,000 maximum payload limit, said Frank Borris, former head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Defect Investigation Office.
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“You will have extended stopping distances, delayed reactions to steering commands and potential overreaction to any type of high-speed lane change,” added Borris.
The driver of a 28-year-old SUV – from Mexicali, Mexico – was among the dead. The 68-year-old driver of the large platform, which is from neighboring El Centro, was hospitalized with moderate injuries.
Audrey Conklin, Lucas Manfredi, William La Jeunesse, Adam Shaw and the Fox News Associated Press contributed to this report