9 die in rollover near Florence

FLORENCE—Hoping to outsmart the U.S. Border Patrol, human smugglers have been taking their overloaded vehicles off the interstate and onto the web of remote highways that lead north from the Mexican border.

The tactic can be perilous, however, as ramshackle vehicles packed with people speed through the desert on smaller, rougher roads.

The latest tragedy associated with these evasive maneuvers may have happened Thursday, authorities said, as a sport utility vehicle loaded with suspected illegal immigrants jumped a dry wash and rolled over on rural State Route 79 north of Tucson.

Nine people died in the crash, and 10 more were injured, said Bart Graves, a spokesman for the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

The dead and injured were all trapped inside the crumpled white SUV and had to be extricated by rescue crews. The injured were flown to hospitals in Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tucson.

DPS Lt. Mike Corbin said the Chevrolet Suburban was heading north just before 8 a.m. Thursday when it ran off the road, jumped 30 feet over a dry wash and slammed into a concrete abutment on the other side. The vehicle flipped over and the roof caved in.

All but two of the victims were men. The two women both died at the scene, Corbin said.

Officer Carmen Figueroa said authorities are still trying to determine which of the crash victims was the driver but they believe he survived.

The narrow highway, which runs through a scenic cactus forest to the eastern outskirts of metro Phoenix, has become a popular route for immigrant smugglers desperate to avoid the Border Patrol.

Authorities said they regularly stop vehicles loaded with undocumented people racing along State Route 79 and other northbound roadways in Arizona, though few incidents have ended in a tragedy like Thursday’s crash.

Nationally, 32 people have died in car crashes involving illegal immigrants during the Border Patrol fiscal year that began Oct. 1. Those statistics don’t include the nine victims who died outside Florence.

Border Patrol spokesman Rob Daniels said most “load” vehicles are not only packed with immigrants, but they typically are in terrible shape, riding on bald tires with faulty transmissions and altered suspensions. Racing through twisty stretches of rural Arizona can be particularly perilous in cars like that, he said.

“Have you ever driven on one of those roads that’s up and down and up and down, and your vehicle gets a little squirrelly on you?” Daniels said. “Imagine if that vehicle is overloaded. It’ll react a lot more violently.”

In 2006, 10 people died when a Suburban carrying 20 illegal immigrants rolled over near Yuma. The driver was later sentenced to life in federal prison.

In April, one woman died when a van carrying 32 illegal immigrants rolled near Interstate 10. The driver was charged with criminal counts including illegally transporting immigrants for profit. His case is pending in federal court.

The 19 people in Thursday’s crash were crammed into a Suburban with two bucket seats in front and three in the back, Corbin said.

“It’s tough, it’s tight, but this is typical of the smuggling organizations,” Corbin said. “They’re just product to them.”

Also in the vehicle were numerous backpacks holding personal belongings.

Craig Fischer, a spokesman for Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix, said the hospital received four survivors and they were in good condition.

Judy Keane, a spokeswoman for Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix, confirmed two survivors were treated there but could not give any information about their condition.

DPS said at least one patient was also taken to Scottsdale Healthcare Osborne Hospital. A spokeswoman said she could not confirm that information.

Darci Slaten, a spokeswoman at University Medical Center in Tucson, said the hospital received three patients, all Hispanic males in their 20s or 30s. Two of the men were listed in critical condition. A third underwent surgery for a leg fracture and was listed in serious condition.

Vinnie Picard, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said immigration agents were investigating the suspicions that the SUV was a human smuggling vehicle.

The suspicion was based on the large number of people crammed into the vehicle and on the highway where it occurred. Still, it’s not yet known whether illegal immigrants were in the vehicle, Picard said.

Corbin said a witness who was driving in front of the crashed SUV reported that it was approaching him at a high rate of speed when it veered off the roadway.