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December
4, 2002
Van
carrying 14 crashes into semi, killing 4
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.)
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