1 Killed as Van Fleeing Border Patrol Crashes

SAN DIEGO — A speeding van full of suspected illegal immigrants rolled over and burst into flames Wednesday morning, killing the driver and injuring five of the 20 passengers in an incident that began when the van tried to evade the Border Patrol, officials said.

The fiery crash comes amid a rash of deaths of illegal immigrants in recent weeks. A dozen immigrants have died in the mountainous stretches of eastern San Diego County because of the cold, snow and icy rain.

The crash occurred on a rain-slicked portion of Interstate 8 east of San Diego about 5:15 a.m., less than a mile from where a similar crash in 1996 left two dead.

The incident began when a Border Patrol agent spotted a 1986 GMC Suburban traveling along County Highway 80, a common path used by smugglers to avoid a Border Patrol checkpoint on I-8.

The agent followed the Suburban for several miles with his car’s red light and siren turned on in an attempt to get the Suburban to pull over. The van pulled back onto I-8 and picked up speed, said Border Patrol spokesman Mark Moody.

“It wasn’t a sound decision,” Moody said of the unidentified driver’s decision to drive faster.

Moody said the agent, in accordance with agency rules, discontinued the pursuit when he saw the Suburban speed up. The agent, having discovered that the Suburban had been stolen two days earlier from Carlsbad, notified the California Highway Patrol that a stolen vehicle was westbound on I-8 near Alpine.

CHP officers were prepared to stop the Suburban near El Cajon with the use of spikes in the road, according to CHP spokesman Art Athens.

But several miles after the Border Patrol ended its pursuit and several miles before the CHP roadblock, the Suburban driver apparently lost control on a downward sloping stretch of I-8. The van flipped and landed on the driver’s door, bursting into flames and spewing passengers over the pavement.

When CHP officers arrived moments later, they found the van engulfed in flames. The van then exploded and flipped into the air, landing upright and continuing to blaze.

The driver was trapped inside. Passengers scrambled to safety, some dazed, others suffering moderate injuries.

Five passengers--four men and a woman--were hospitalized. Others were taken into custody. Passengers told Border Patrol agents and CHP officers that the driver was the smuggler--although officials say immigrants are often coached or intimidated by the smugglers to lie if apprehended.

“It was incredible that they all didn’t sustain major injuries and were able to get out of the car,” said CHP Officer Roy Kramer, one of the first officers on the scene.

The recent deaths have rekindled a debate about the Operation Gatekeeper immigration crackdown that has made crossing illegally near the San Ysidro border crossing more difficult. The result is that more smugglers are taking more chances, including overland treks in hostile weather and high-speed escape maneuvers.

Immigrant rights activists have insisted that the deaths show the inhumane nature of Operation Gatekeeper. Those who believe in tighter enforcement of immigration laws have responded that the deaths are proof of the immorality of smugglers.