Photo: YouTube/Fox 11
A new tragic record has been set on U.S. roads, with the deadliest transportation-related accident in more than a decade. An SUV carrying 25 people was T-boned by a semi hauling two empty trailers in Imperial County, in California, on the U.S.-Mexico border on Tuesday morning.
The SUV, a Ford Expedition, was carrying 25 people in total, including the driver, even though it is rated for a capacity of eight in total. California Highway Patrol Border Division Chief Omar Watson tells CNN that the rear seats had been removed specifically to allow as many people inside, which means that only the front seats had seat belts.
Both men and women aged 16 to 55 were in the SUV. According to the on-site investigation, it looks like the Ford failed to give way to the incoming semi at an intersection and was T-boned at high speed. Because no one in the rear had seat belts, the number of casualties is incredibly high: 12 people died at the scene and three more at the hospital.
Accounts on the number of passengers in the SUV and the number of fatalities vary. The director of El Centro Regional Medical Center says that 18 people have perished in the crash, including the driver of the SUV.
Since the area of the crash is close to San Diego and given that at least ten of the SUV occupants were from Mexico, it is believed they were workers going into the city for an assignment. While the investigation is underway, the CHP highlights the inherent danger in overloading a vehicle either with passengers or cargo.
“Obviously that vehicle is not meant for that many people,” Watson says. “It's unfortunate that that number of people were put into that vehicle because there's not enough safety restraints to safely keep those people within the vehicle. I don't know if [the seats] were cut out or removed, I'm not sure, but they were not in the vehicle. What it indicates is that there were not enough safety belts for the passengers.”
Both men and women aged 16 to 55 were in the SUV. According to the on-site investigation, it looks like the Ford failed to give way to the incoming semi at an intersection and was T-boned at high speed. Because no one in the rear had seat belts, the number of casualties is incredibly high: 12 people died at the scene and three more at the hospital.
Accounts on the number of passengers in the SUV and the number of fatalities vary. The director of El Centro Regional Medical Center says that 18 people have perished in the crash, including the driver of the SUV.
Since the area of the crash is close to San Diego and given that at least ten of the SUV occupants were from Mexico, it is believed they were workers going into the city for an assignment. While the investigation is underway, the CHP highlights the inherent danger in overloading a vehicle either with passengers or cargo.
“Obviously that vehicle is not meant for that many people,” Watson says. “It's unfortunate that that number of people were put into that vehicle because there's not enough safety restraints to safely keep those people within the vehicle. I don't know if [the seats] were cut out or removed, I'm not sure, but they were not in the vehicle. What it indicates is that there were not enough safety belts for the passengers.”
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