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At least 15 killed in crash in southern California, authorities say

Last Updated 02 March 2021, 20:59 IST

At least 15 people were killed Tuesday morning in an accident in Southern California involving a tractor-trailer and an SUV carrying more than two dozen people, authorities and hospital officials said.

The crash took place before 7 a.m. local time on the outskirts of Holtville, California, about 42 miles west of the Arizona border and near the border with Mexico, authorities said. Officer Jake Sanchez, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol, said the truck was heading northbound on State Route 115 when the Ford SUV, traveling west, pulled into its path at an intersection.

“The left side of the Ford was impacted,” Sanchez said.

Adolphe Edward, CEO of the El Centro Regional Medical Center, said that 14 people were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, and another victim died at the hospital. An additional six victims were being treated at the hospital in El Centro, the largest city in the area.

Judy Cruz, managing director of the emergency department at the El Centro Regional Medical Center, said at a news conference that two victims were taken to Pioneers Memorial Hospital in Brawley, California.

“We believe there was 27 passengers in this SUV that struck a semitruck full of gravel,” Cruz said.

Sanchez said the truck driver had minor injuries in the crash. He described the SUV as a Ford vehicle whose maximum legal capacity was seven to eight people.

“It was grossly overfilled,” he said.

Edward said in an interview that he believed that the victims were migrants without legal status.

“This is a major accident with major trauma,” he said.

Macario Mora, a spokesman for Customs and Border Protection in Yuma and El Centro, said the agency was assisting other law enforcement officials with the crash investigation. He said the immigration status of those in the vehicle was unknown and was still under investigation by the California Highway Patrol.

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(Published 02 March 2021, 20:58 IST)

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