10 Immigrants Dead in Van Rollover

Occupants were "stacked like wood"

Updated: Sunday, 07 Jun 2009, 7:05 PM MDT
Published : Sunday, 07 Jun 2009, 4:03 PM MDT

SONOITA - At least 10 people are dead in a vehicle rollover just before midnight Saturday.

A spokesperson for the Department of Public Ssafety says that a van rolled over on State Route 82 near Sonoita, Ariz.

A total of 22 people were crammed into a Ford Excursion, and when the driver lost control, most of the passengers were ejected.

The occupants were stacked like wood, and no one was wearing seatbelts.

Five injured victims have been airlifted to a Tucson hospital and seven have been taken by ambulance. Those who have been treated and released have been handed over to U.S. Border Patrol.

They were undocumented aliens, believed to be from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and perhaps Mexico.

DPS is investigating the crash. Criminal charges are possible, if the driver survives.

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