Border Patrol says truck in triple-fatal crash was smuggling people across border
Cal Fire San Diego firefighters work at the scene of a crash that killed three people and injured eight, three seriously, on Thursday afternoon on westbound Interstate 8 near Boulevard.
Authorities believe smugglers removed a piece of this vehicular border barrier, known as a “tank trap,” along the U.S.-Mexico border in Campo and drove into the United States on Thursday. The suspected smugglers also cut the wire , authorities said.
The pickup involved in the crash that killed three people during a rainy pursuit by U.S. Border Patrol agents had just driven across the international border in a human-smuggling attempt, the federal agency said Friday.
Eleven people were in the Chevrolet Silverado pickup — nine of them in the bed, which had no camper shell — when it crashed along westbound Interstate 8 near Crestwood Road on Thursday afternoon.
Everyone but the driver was thrown from the truck.
After fleeing for several more miles, the suspect ran over a tire-flattening spike strip that agents had laid across the roadway in his path east of Crestwood Road, according to the federal agency.
About a minute later, the Silverado -- occupied by a single passenger in the front and the rest unrestrained in the cargo bed -- veered off the interstate, went up a dirt embankment, became airborne, overturned and rolled back down the sloping roadside onto the freeway.
The driver of the pickup was identified Friday as Luis Alberto Virgen, 21, a U.S. citizen who has been living in Tijuana, California Highway Patrol officer Travis Garrow said. The passengers are not believed to be U.S. citizens, he said.
Virgen was arrested on suspicion of three counts of gross vehicular manslaughter and is expected to be arraigned next week. He remained jailed Friday in lieu of $150,000 bail, according to online jail records.
Update: Luis Alberto Virgen, a 21-year-old U.S. citizen faces 45 years to life in prison if convicted. He remains held in lieu of $3 million bail.
On Friday, the Border Patrol said that at about 4:10 p.m. Thursday, its agents spotted tire tracks from multiple vehicles near the U.S.-Mexico border. The tracks crossed into the United States and headed north.
That, the agency said, was indicative of what it calls “a drive-through smuggling event” — smugglers driving people across the border.
Authorities believe smugglers removed a piece of this vehicular border barrier, known as a “tank trap,” along the U.S.-Mexico border in Campo and drove into the United States on Thursday. The suspected smugglers also cut the wire, authorities said.
Authorities say this photo depicts what the border barrier in Campo looked like after smugglers cut and removed a piece of it to cross into the United States from Mexico. The smugglers then slipped the T-shaped pole in the bottom left corner back into place.
Along with the tracks, agents found a piece of a vehicle. Officials did not specify what type of car part it may have been.
Ten minutes later, agents spotted the Silverado, which was missing the same type of part that had been found near the suspicious tire tracks.
Agents gave chase in their vehicles, with lights and sirens on, the Border Patrol said.
The fleeing truck raced off and jumped onto Interstate 8 at Buckman Springs Road, then headed east roughly 15 miles before getting off at Ribbonwood Road. It got right back on the freeway, this time heading west.
According to a CHP incident log posted online, witnesses reported the pickup was weaving in and out of traffic, as well as passing other cars by driving on the center median and right shoulder at speeds topping 100 mph.
The Border Patrol said that after the car started heading west, agents rolled a spike strip out across the freeway east of Crestwood Road, which is near the Golden Acorn Casino.
The speeding truck ran over the strip, and about a minute later, the vehicle headed up a dirt and rock embankment along the freeway and rolled.
It was raining at the time of the crash.
Ten of the 11 people in the truck were thrown from the vehicle. Three of them died, including a 38-year-old woman who was riding in the cab of the Silverado and was the sole woman in the truck.
One of the men killed was 34 years old and the other was believed to be between 18 and 25 years old, the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office said Friday night. Their names were not released.
Eight others in the pickup sustained injuries ranging from moderate to major. All passengers except for the woman who died were in the bed of the truck.
No further information about the victims was available, including their names, ages or country of citizenship. Garrow said the passengers have not yet been identified.
“We are still working on that,” he said.
The surviving passengers remained hospitalized as of Friday morning, Garrow said.
About an hour after the crash, around 5:30 p.m., Border Patrol agents discovered a second vehicle believed to have been involved in the incident and arrested a suspect, identified only as male, in connection with the vehicle, according to the agency.
Late Friday, the agency released photos of the specific site in Campo where authorities believe suspected smugglers entered the country by cutting and removing a piece of a barrier along the international border.
The barriers — put in place to block vehicles from crossing the border — are referred to as “tank traps.”
The photos depict a T-shaped pole, which authorities said had been cut at the base and lifted out of the way. The suspected smugglers also cut through the wires.
After driving across the border through the newly created hole in the barrier, the smugglers replaced the pole so as not to arouse suspicion, the agency said. They also tied the wires back together.
The Border Patrol said the incident is under investigation and that the agency is “fully cooperating with the CHP in their investigation of the collision.”
When it comes to chases, the policy of the Border Patrol states that agents may engage in pursuits only when the benefit outweighs any immediate danger created by speeding or other emergency driving techniques.
teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com
(760) 529-4945
Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT
UPDATES:
4:20 p.m.: This story was updated to note that Virgen’s bail was set at $150,000, according to the jail website.
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/pub...story.html
Cal Fire San Diego firefighters work at the scene of a crash that killed three people and injured eight, three seriously, on Thursday afternoon on westbound Interstate 8 near Boulevard.
Authorities believe smugglers removed a piece of this vehicular border barrier, known as a “tank trap,” along the U.S.-Mexico border in Campo and drove into the United States on Thursday. The suspected smugglers also cut the wire , authorities said.
The pickup involved in the crash that killed three people during a rainy pursuit by U.S. Border Patrol agents had just driven across the international border in a human-smuggling attempt, the federal agency said Friday.
Eleven people were in the Chevrolet Silverado pickup — nine of them in the bed, which had no camper shell — when it crashed along westbound Interstate 8 near Crestwood Road on Thursday afternoon.
Everyone but the driver was thrown from the truck.
After fleeing for several more miles, the suspect ran over a tire-flattening spike strip that agents had laid across the roadway in his path east of Crestwood Road, according to the federal agency.
About a minute later, the Silverado -- occupied by a single passenger in the front and the rest unrestrained in the cargo bed -- veered off the interstate, went up a dirt embankment, became airborne, overturned and rolled back down the sloping roadside onto the freeway.
The driver of the pickup was identified Friday as Luis Alberto Virgen, 21, a U.S. citizen who has been living in Tijuana, California Highway Patrol officer Travis Garrow said. The passengers are not believed to be U.S. citizens, he said.
Virgen was arrested on suspicion of three counts of gross vehicular manslaughter and is expected to be arraigned next week. He remained jailed Friday in lieu of $150,000 bail, according to online jail records.
Update: Luis Alberto Virgen, a 21-year-old U.S. citizen faces 45 years to life in prison if convicted. He remains held in lieu of $3 million bail.
On Friday, the Border Patrol said that at about 4:10 p.m. Thursday, its agents spotted tire tracks from multiple vehicles near the U.S.-Mexico border. The tracks crossed into the United States and headed north.
That, the agency said, was indicative of what it calls “a drive-through smuggling event” — smugglers driving people across the border.
Authorities believe smugglers removed a piece of this vehicular border barrier, known as a “tank trap,” along the U.S.-Mexico border in Campo and drove into the United States on Thursday. The suspected smugglers also cut the wire, authorities said.
Authorities say this photo depicts what the border barrier in Campo looked like after smugglers cut and removed a piece of it to cross into the United States from Mexico. The smugglers then slipped the T-shaped pole in the bottom left corner back into place.
Along with the tracks, agents found a piece of a vehicle. Officials did not specify what type of car part it may have been.
Ten minutes later, agents spotted the Silverado, which was missing the same type of part that had been found near the suspicious tire tracks.
Agents gave chase in their vehicles, with lights and sirens on, the Border Patrol said.
The fleeing truck raced off and jumped onto Interstate 8 at Buckman Springs Road, then headed east roughly 15 miles before getting off at Ribbonwood Road. It got right back on the freeway, this time heading west.
According to a CHP incident log posted online, witnesses reported the pickup was weaving in and out of traffic, as well as passing other cars by driving on the center median and right shoulder at speeds topping 100 mph.
The Border Patrol said that after the car started heading west, agents rolled a spike strip out across the freeway east of Crestwood Road, which is near the Golden Acorn Casino.
The speeding truck ran over the strip, and about a minute later, the vehicle headed up a dirt and rock embankment along the freeway and rolled.
It was raining at the time of the crash.
Ten of the 11 people in the truck were thrown from the vehicle. Three of them died, including a 38-year-old woman who was riding in the cab of the Silverado and was the sole woman in the truck.
One of the men killed was 34 years old and the other was believed to be between 18 and 25 years old, the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office said Friday night. Their names were not released.
Eight others in the pickup sustained injuries ranging from moderate to major. All passengers except for the woman who died were in the bed of the truck.
No further information about the victims was available, including their names, ages or country of citizenship. Garrow said the passengers have not yet been identified.
“We are still working on that,” he said.
The surviving passengers remained hospitalized as of Friday morning, Garrow said.
About an hour after the crash, around 5:30 p.m., Border Patrol agents discovered a second vehicle believed to have been involved in the incident and arrested a suspect, identified only as male, in connection with the vehicle, according to the agency.
Late Friday, the agency released photos of the specific site in Campo where authorities believe suspected smugglers entered the country by cutting and removing a piece of a barrier along the international border.
The barriers — put in place to block vehicles from crossing the border — are referred to as “tank traps.”
The photos depict a T-shaped pole, which authorities said had been cut at the base and lifted out of the way. The suspected smugglers also cut through the wires.
After driving across the border through the newly created hole in the barrier, the smugglers replaced the pole so as not to arouse suspicion, the agency said. They also tied the wires back together.
The Border Patrol said the incident is under investigation and that the agency is “fully cooperating with the CHP in their investigation of the collision.”
When it comes to chases, the policy of the Border Patrol states that agents may engage in pursuits only when the benefit outweighs any immediate danger created by speeding or other emergency driving techniques.
teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com
(760) 529-4945
Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT
UPDATES:
4:20 p.m.: This story was updated to note that Virgen’s bail was set at $150,000, according to the jail website.
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/pub...story.html
