TUCSON, Ariz. - Arizona authorities describe a chaotic scene from a weekend crash involving a sport utility vehicle packed with 20 people from Mexico and Guatemala as it fled the Border Patrol and flipped over, killing five people and injuring 15.
The vehicle was wrecked so badly that authorities had difficulty determining its make and model, and two injured people attempted to flee the scene on foot but were apprehended.
The crash is the latest in a series of deadly wrecks involving people being smuggled into Arizona from Mexico in recent years. It highlights the dangers faced by people trying to enter the country illegally.
The Chevrolet wrecked Saturday night while exiting Interstate 10 about 20 miles east of Tucson.
Border Patrol agents were about a quarter-mile behind it when it crashed on the off ramp to State Route 83.
Department of Public Safety investigators believed the passengers all had entered the U.S. illegally, he said.
Front Section, Pages 8 on 04/23/2013