At least 13 killed in crash in Southern California, authorities say

At least 13 people were killed Tuesday morning when a tractor-trailer slammed into the side of an SUV that was carrying more than two dozen people in Southern California, authorities said.

>> Christine Hauser and Sarah BahrThe New York Times
Published : 2 March 2021, 06:15 PM
Updated : 2 March 2021, 09:10 PM

The crash took place just after 6 a.m. local time on the outskirts of Holtville, California, about 42 miles west of the Arizona border and near the border with Mexico, Omar Watson, chief of the California Highway Patrol’s border division, said at a news conference.

Watson said the tractor-trailer had been traveling north along State Route 115 when the driver of the SUV, a maroon Ford Expedition, pulled into its path. The tractor-trailer struck the SUV on the driver’s side, which caused several passengers to be thrown from the vehicle, he said.

There were 25 people inside the SUV, Watson said, and 12 were dead when police arrived on the scene shortly after 6:15 a.m. One more died at a hospital, bringing the total fatalities to 13, two fewer than hospital officials had reported earlier Tuesday.

“Some people were ejected onto the pavement, onto the ground, and passed away,” he said. “Other people were found deceased inside the vehicle.”

The dead ranged in ages from 20 to 55, Watson said, and at least one of the injured passengers was as young as 16; the oldest was 65. He said police were still trying to identify some of the passengers. He did not identify the nationalities of the injured, but said that authorities had reached out to the Mexican Consulate for help, and that it was not yet clear whether any of the passengers were American citizens.

Watson also said there had not been any law enforcement agencies chasing the vehicle or involved in the crash.

“We’re not sure exactly what caused the collision,” he said. “Obviously, that vehicle is not meant for that many people.”

Some people who survived the crash had been able to pull themselves from the car. Footage from the scene showed a crumpled, maroon SUV with the tractor-trailer still lodged in its side.

Judy Cruz, managing director of the emergency department at the El Centro Regional Medical Center, said earlier Tuesday that the tractor-trailer had been carrying gravel. The injured passengers had been taken to El Centro Regional Medical Center; Pioneers Memorial Hospital in Brawley, California; and Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, California.

Watson said the truck driver had “moderate” injuries and was taken to a hospital. Officials had previously said the SUV had a maximum legal capacity of seven or eight people.

Adolphe Edward, CEO of the El Centro Regional Medical Center, said in an interview that he believed that the victims were migrants without legal status.

“This is a major accident with major trauma,” he said.

Macario Mora, a spokesman for Customs and Border Protection in Yuma and El Centro, said the agency was assisting other law enforcement officials with the crash investigation. He said the immigration status of those in the vehicle was unknown and was still under investigation by the California Highway Patrol.

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