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| 6 Killed in Arizona As SUV Flees Deputies |
| 2004-10-17 |
| A stolen truck filled with suspected illegal immigrants sped away from deputies and rolled over at a busy intersection near an Army post Saturday, causing an 11-car crash that killed six people and seriously injured 15, sheriff's officials said. Passengers were thrown from the truck as it struck a center median and began to spiral, hitting vehicles waiting at a turn lane, Deputy Chief Randy Redmond of the Sierra Vista Fire Department said. Investigators think the truck was traveling at about 90 mph when it lost control near Fort Huachuca in southeastern Arizona, he said. At least 20 people were in the truck, Redmond said. "This is the worst multiple fatality accident I've been on," Redmond said. "To have people pinned, the huge language barrier, it was really a horrible, horrible scene." The impact tore the roofs from some cars and trapped some motorists in their vehicles, Redmond said. Five people died at the scene. Two people were flown from the scene and another 20 were transported by ambulance to hospitals, where one victim later died, according to the fire department. Cochise County deputies believed the truck was carrying illegal immigrants. They first saw the vehicle driving out of a brushy area along a highway and trailed it for a short time, sheriff's spokeswoman Carol Capas said. Deputies called for backup and stopped chasing the vehicle after the suspect sped and drove away recklessly, Capas said. Authorities then spotted the truck heading north on State Route 90. Sierra Vista police officers used tire deflation devices to slow the vehicle, said Frank Valenzuela, a spokesman for the Public Safety Department. The driver lost control shortly before noon at a busy intersection near the east entrance to Fort Huachuca, an Army post next to Sierra Vista. Traffic in the area was diverted to Tombstone while authorities investigated. The vehicle had been reported stolen in Phoenix, Capas said. Vehicle-related deaths of undocumented immigrants have been on the rise in Arizona, many of them involving overloaded vehicles used by immigrant smugglers. Also in the past year or so, authorities have noticed that stolen vehicles are being used more frequently for smuggling human cargo. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #11 Fort Huachuca is where the Army's intelligence school is located. I have a half-dozen friends stationed there right now. So far, all but one have checked in as being ok. It's time to start running hellfire-equipped Predator drones along our border, with an established free-fire zone, and a rule that the first trial lawyer that tries to sue over it gets deported to Zimbabwe. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2004-10-17 7:28:21 PM |
| #10 Fleeing Police must be a felony in Arizona. Does Ariozona have a Felony Murder rule whereby if anyone dies in the commission of a felony they are up for Murder 1? And all the illegals in the truck were committing a felony with the driver as well by entering the country ilegally. They should be up for Murder 1 as well. Fry 'em all at once. If I were related to one of the victims, I would sure as hell try to sue the U. S. Government for negligence in the wrongful death of my relative. This is BS. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-10-17 6:58:23 PM |
| #9 Its really sad, but they'll have to be a terrorist act with hardcore proof that the perps leaked across the Mexican border before ANYBODY in our government is ever going to take this seriously. Absolutely amazing. |
| Posted by: Crusader 2004-10-17 6:27:33 PM |
| #8 Four of the people who died were in the pickup and the two others were in a vehicle the truck hit, Redmond said. So two Americans lost their lives for these illegal immigrants to come across the border. Electrify the damn fence already! |
| Posted by: Charles 2004-10-17 5:34:00 PM |
| #7 LOL, TW. Nah, mine isn't out at night vandalizing farmers' property. It sits contentedly in the driveway, knowing it is loved and it will be fed and groomed/petted regularly. ;-) |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-10-17 12:53:28 PM |
| #6 Barbara, I have no doubt that your SUV is properly trained, which is why it doesn't do such things. And it feels loved, so it doesn't run away to Mexico. But have you heard about the midnight SUV dances? That's why we occasionally find crop circles, y'know. Its nothing to do with aliens. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2004-10-17 12:25:23 PM |
| #5 Fort Huachuca:home of the Buffalo Soldier.Did some lead abbatment work there.We were finding pre-WW1 Springfied and Enfield ammo buired in the stables. |
| Posted by: raptor 2004-10-17 12:06:09 PM |
| #4 typical - we see one of these runners every month in San Diego, it seems |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-10-17 11:16:41 AM |
| #3 One account has most of the illegals and the driver running like heck. They were not the ones killed and injured. Developing..... |
| Posted by: dennisw 2004-10-17 11:12:27 AM |
| #2 You beat me to it, tu3031. My SUV doesn't drive around on its own, unlike the SUVs always being blamed in newspaper articles for fatal accidents. Guess mine didn't come with that special chip. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-10-17 11:09:05 AM |
| #1 What do these evil SUV's expect when they drive themselves to Mexico, load up on illegals, and drive themselves back. The day they gave SUV's minds of their own was a dark day in American automotive history! |
| Posted by: tu3031 2004-10-17 10:53:31 AM |