Collision between overcrowded vehicle and truck causes 15 deaths in California

A collision between a vehicle that allegedly carried 27 people and a heavy truck killed at least 15 people on a highway in southern California, in the United States.

“We believe that there were 27 passengers in the SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle) that crashed into a semi-trailer full of gravel,” said Judy Cruz, responsible for the emergency at the medical center El Centro, near the Mexican border.

According to the source, at least 14 people died at the scene of the accident and one after being taken to the hospital, where six others were admitted to the emergency room.

Other victims were sent to more hospitals, including four that were transported by air to the Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, said spokesman Todd Burke, adding that three are in the Intensive Care Unit.

The driver of the semi-trailer suffered “multiple injuries”, according to the traffic police.

According to a California highway police officer, Jack Sanchez, questioned by the newspaper “USA Today”, the SUV involved in the accident is a Ford Expedition, a model that according to the brand’s Internet portal can accommodate a maximum of eight passengers.

The causes of the accident have yet to be determined.

Macario Mora, spokesman for the Customs and Border Guard in Yuma and El Centro, said that this police force is helping the rest of the authorities with the accident, adding that the immigration status of the people following the SUV is unknown and is being under study.

“It was an unusual number of people in an SUV, but we don’t know who they were. They could just be farmers,” he added.

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