Truck Bearing 15 Illegals Crashes at Border; 7 Hurt

SAN DIEGO — A pickup truck carrying 15 illegal aliens was involved in a three-vehicle collision Saturday while fleeing from U.S. Border Patrol agents. Seven people were injured.

The agents had abandoned the chase in heavy traffic, but the truck continued on before rear-ending another truck, which was pushed into a car ahead of it at the San Ysidro border station, authorities said.

Shortly before 10 a.m., the agents spotted a 1972 GMC truck with a covered bed driving westbound on Otay Mesa Road just east of California 117, patrol spokesman Wayne Kirkpatrick said.

Stolen Vehicle

“The agents determined the same vehicle had been pursued the previous day (by patrol agents who) suspected it to be used for transporting illegal aliens,” he said. “They also determined the vehicle had been reported stolen several days ago.”

Agents chased the truck onto westbound California 117 and then southbound on Interstate 5. The chase continued at high speeds until about a half-mile north of the border, where the agents discontinued their pursuit because of heavy traffic, Kirkpatrick said.

“The driver of the truck continued toward the border, driving erratically and at high speeds through heavy traffic,” he said. “It was moving from the fast to slow lane in an apparent attempt to find an open route to the crossing.”

About 100 yards north of the border, the truck moved into the far right lane at about 45 m.p.h., Kirkpatrick said. The truck slammed into the rear of a Ford pickup truck that had stopped because of traffic and which then hit the compact car in front of it.

Two children in the GMC truck, 4-year-old Javier Contreras and 12-year-old Elzia Rios, were in good condition at Children’s Hospital of San Diego, spokeswoman Terry Merryman said.

Mexican Nationals

Ramon Beles, 21, was in fair condition at UC San Diego Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said. Hector Quesada, age unknown, was in good condition there. Both men were passengers in the GMC truck and are believed to be Mexican nationals, authorities said.

Hector Castro, 22, was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital in Chula Vista, where he was treated before being released into the custody of the Border Patrol, authorities said.

Two other people involved in the accident, including the driver of the Ford pickup, were taken to the emergency room of Chula Vista Community Hospital, where they were treated, a hospital spokeswoman said. Their names were not released.

The driver of the GMC truck, Baltazar Garcia Andrade, 28, and a passenger, Jose Alvarado Ortega, 21, were arrested by the border patrol on suspicion of smuggling and transporting illegal aliens, Kirkpatrick said. Passengers in the truck not injured in the accident were being questioned and would then be deported back to Mexico, he said.

The California Highway Patrol is investigating the incident to see if additional charges should be filed against Garcia, a spokesman said.

The GMC truck involved in the chase was first seen by border patrol agents Friday morning in the Otay Mesa area, Kirkpatrick said. At that time, agents pursued it but were unable to catch up.