Border Patrol Chase Leaves 1 Dead, 8 Hurt

A teen-age girl was killed and eight other people were injured early Thursday when a vehicle suspected of smuggling illegal aliens--apparently fleeing at high speed from a U.S. Border Patrol van--tumbled down an embankment and crashed into a carport in San Ysidro, authorities said.

Dead at the scene was Maria Resendiz, 17, a Mexican citizen, a passenger in the vehicle, police said.

A 2-year-old child who was also aboard apparently escaped without injuries, authorities said, although the toddler was hospitalized for observation.

At least two survivors remained in critical condition late Thursday at UC San Diego Medical Center.

The driver, identified as Gilberto Ruiz Cuadras, 27, could face state manslaughter charges and federal smuggling charges, authorities said. He was in good condition at Mercy Hospital, authorities said.

The chase fueled the debate about safety procedures employed by U.S. immigration vehicles chasing vehicles suspected of holding smuggled illegal aliens. In the past seven years, Border Patrol pursuits in California have ended in crashes that killed at least 16 people, mostly undocumented immigrants from Mexico.

In the most serious incident, 11 people died Aug. 10, 1983, when a sedan fleeing Border Patrol officers slammed into a hay truck near Coachella.

Critics have charged that Border Patrol vehicles have needlessly become involved in dangerous high-speed chases and ignored alternatives, such as enlisting the help of helicopters and other law enforcement agencies, or simply waiting until the vehicles run out of fuel.

U.S. authorities have stated that Border Patrol officers, as a matter of policy, break off any pursuit as soon as it becomes hazardous to the public or anyone else involved. Local authorities are routinely informed of such chases, and helicopters have been used to increase safety, said Ted A. Swofford, a U.S. Border Patrol spokesman in San Diego.

In Thursday’s incident, Swofford said, the pursuing immigration van never exceeded 55 m.p.h. and all safety rules were observed. The chase lasted less than a minute, said Swofford, who added that the patrol officers had lost sight of the suspected smuggling vehicle by the time it went out of control.

“From our information, this fell well within the guidelines of our (safety) policy,” Swofford said.

Roberto Martinez, a San Diego rights activist who has long been critical of Border Patrol policies, said the incident illustrated the hazardous manner in which immigration authorities pursue suspected smuggling vehicles.

“These chases are like loaded guns,” said Martinez, U.S.-Mexico border representative for the American Friends Service Committee, social action arm of the Quaker Church.

The incident began about 4:45 a.m., according to the Border Patrol, when agents driving north on Interstate 5 about 2 miles north of the border noticed several people entering a pickup truck that was parked on the freeway’s shoulder. The area is a known corridor for smuggling vehicles, which each day pick up loads of undocumented immigrants along the highway and in nearby parking lots, streets and roadways.

According to the Border Patrol account, the immigration van, its red lights flashing, followed the suspected smuggling vehicle as it veered onto Interstate 905 at high speed, turned onto Beyer Boulevard, then went left on Iris Avenue. The van never turned on its headlights in the dark, Swofford said. The agents lost the vehicle as it turned onto Iris, Swofford said, but shortly thereafter the officers noticed some nearby sparks.

The sparks were coming from the spot on Oro Vista Road where the pickup had rammed through a fence, plunged down a 12-foot embankment and crashed into the roof of a carport at a housing complex. The agents called for help and applied first aid until paramedics arrived, Swofford said. The woman was dead at the scene.

According to San Diego police, the fleeing vehicle reached speeds of up to 80 m.p.h.

Authorities said at least two of the injured were released from area hospitals Thursday after being examined.

Names of all the injured were not available.

One of the two men in critical condition at UC San Diego Medical Center was identified only as Hilario Robles, 35, whose address was not available. The other man in critical condition at UC San Diego remained unidentified.

Apart from the driver, a 15-year-old boy was listed in good condition at Mercy Hospital. His name also was not available.