Human smuggling probe after crash kills 13 of 25 people crammed into SUV

AUTHORITIES are investigating whether human smuggling was involved after a crash between an SUV packed with 25 people and a lorry left 13 people dead and bodies strewn across a road near the Us-mexico border. Most of the dead were Mexicans, an official said.

When police arrived, some of the passengers were trying to crawl out of the crumpled 1997 Ford Expedition while others were wandering around nearby fields.

The lorry’s front end was pushed into the SUV’S left side and two empty trailers were jackknifed behind it.

Twelve people were found dead when first responders reached the two-lane highway, which winds through fields in the agricultural southeastern corner of California about 125 miles east of San Diego. Another person died at a hospital.

Roberto Velasco, director of North American affairs for Mexico’s Foreign Relations Department, confirmed via his Twitter account that at least 10 of those killed have been identified as Mexicans.

The cause of the collision was unclear, authorities said, and it also was not immediately known why so many people were crammed into a vehicle built to hold eight people safely.

Mr Watson said the SUV only had front seats – the middle and back seats had been removed. That would allow more people to fit into the vehicle but makes it more unsafe.

It was not clear whether the SUV was carrying migrants who had crossed the border, ferrying farmworkers to fields, or was being used for some other purpose.

Those in the vehicle ranged in age from 15 to 53 and were a mix of males and females.