Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A van carrying 14 people that slammed into a tractor-trailer rig early Wednesday was probably being driven by a smuggler of illegal immigrants, said a Mexican consul.
A 7-year-old girl, a 17-year-old boy and two men in their 20s were killed in the crash, said Highway Patrol Sgt. Dan Ferguson. The survivors ranged in age from 2 to 37.
The passengers, all Mexican nationals, did not know the driver, who was among those killed in the crash.
That probably means that the person was a smuggler, said Mexican Consul Martin Torres, who represents Utah, Idaho, Montana and half of Wyoming.
"We don't need innocent lives to be put in the hands of smugglers," Torres said. "They don't have to be at the mercy of those who traffic in human lives."
The Highway Patrol has confirmed that the driver's brother was also in the van and survived the crash. Officials had no comment on Torres' assertion.
Names of the dead and injured were not released Wednesday. Torres said many of those in the van were from the Mexican state Oaxaca on the Pacific coast.
Four of the passengers were taken into Immigration and Naturalization Service custody Wednesday evening, he said.
They were believed to be headed to Florida, although they were West bound on the highway. Ferguson said the survivors told INS agents they were attempting to avoid immigration officials.
"Given the circumstances of the tragedy, they will probably be quickly released back to Mexico," Torres said.
The van struck the front of the truck at about 5 a.m. on Highway 89 about eight miles east of Kanab, in southern Utah, said Highway Patrol Sgt. Doug McCleve. He said the truck driver wasn't hurt.
By the time troopers arrived, passers-by had taken some of the survivors to Kane County Hospital.
All 10 survivors were taken to the hospital, said spokeswoman Laurali Noteman. Three in critical condition were flown to trauma centers in Las Vegas and St. George, Utah.
Two others were taken by ambulance to the St. George hospital, Noteman said.
All the others were released from the Kanab hospital by Wednesday afternoon, Noteman said.
Kanab is 260 miles south of Salt Lake City, near the Arizona state line.
Torres said the crash points to the need of a bilaterial immigration agreement between the United States and Mexico. "We will stop this and other tragedies and injustices from happening," he said.
(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
