BRAWLEY, California: A Mexican citizen accused of driving more than 20 illegal immigrants in a vehicle that plunged into a canal, killing six of them, has been arrested on suspicion of smuggling, federal authorities said Monday.
The crash happened Friday night shortly after the driver fled police in Westmorland, about 125 miles (200 kilometers) east of San Diego, said Lauren Mack, spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
According to the California Highway Patrol, the GMC Suburban overturned into the canal and was submerged after the driver failed to maneuver a curve in the road. An 8-year-old boy and his parents were among the dead; the boy's 12-year-old sister survived.
The driver was arrested Sunday at a motel in nearby Brawley, Mack said. The suspect, who has been caught eight times by the Border Patrol, claimed to be a juvenile. His name was not released.
Witnesses reported that 22 people, all believed to be Mexican, had been packed in the Suburban, Mack said. Alfredo Sevilla, deputy consul for the Mexican consulate in Calexico, said there had been 19 people inside.
Five passengers were returned to Mexico, four were hospitalized, and three were being held as material witnesses, Mack said. The others apparently fled.
None of the four treated at Pioneers Memorial Hospital in Brawley suffered serious injuries, Sevilla said.
Passengers told Mexican authorities they walked across the border at Andrade, California, near the Arizona line, and entered the vehicle when the driver stopped for them along Interstate 8, said Francisco Torres, another consular official.
Westmorland police ended a pursuit when the driver accelerated, Sevilla said.
Driver in California crash that killed 6 illegal immigrants arrested on suspicion of smuggling
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