Authorities still do not know why the SUV was packed with 25 people early in the morning. It is not clear where they were headed. And finally, what caused the semitruck to bump into the side of the Ford Expedition at an intersection on a rural road, 10 miles north of the Mexican border.
“It would be premature of me to speculate about what happened during this collision. The most important thing is that 13 people died in this accident,” said Omar Watson, head of California. “We owe it to the families of those who also died and injured in public to conduct a full and thorough investigation.”
But after a day of towing the sewing half-machine that struck on the left side of the SUV, this is what we know:
Hospital and police officers gave slightly different counts of the injured and dead in the incident.
Judy Cruz, the managing director of the emergency department at El Centro Regional Medical Center, said the vehicle had 28 occupants and 15 died.
But Watson said at a morning briefing that there were 25 occupants in the expedition and that 13 died, including the driver of the SUV. The passengers in the SUV range between 15 and 53 years old, he said.
It is not yet known where all the SUV passengers came from, as some had no identification, Watson said, although he added that the driver of the Mexican city of Mexicali is coming.
“We’re close to the border, so we have people coming back and forth to work every day,” he said.
And the Mexican consulate said at least ten of the victims were Mexican citizens.
Consulate officials said they were saddened by the news and were confirming the nationality of the other three passengers.
The driver of the semitruck, who is 69, sustained moderate injuries. The trailers he pulled were not loaded, Watson said.
what happened
According to authorities, the police received a call about the accident around 06:15. At the time of the accident, the semitruck was traveling north on State Road 115 and the Expedition was traveling west on Norrish Road in the Holtville area, about 100 miles. east of San Diego, Watson said.
The semi-truck was traveling at an unknown speed when it hit the left side of the SUV.
Watson said it was unclear whether the SUV stopped at an intersection but entered the intersection “in front of the big rig”.
“I do not know if they were cut out or removed, I do not know for sure, but they were not in the vehicle,” Watson said. “What this indicates is that there were not enough seat belts for the passengers.”
The scene was gruesome, and some occupants were thrown from the vehicle and killed, while others were found dead inside the SUV, Watson said. According to him, 12 people died in the collision and one person died in a hospital.
What’s next in the investigation
The injured occupants were taken to El Centro Regional Medical Center (ECRMC), Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs and Pioneers Memorial Hospital in nearby Brawley. UC San Diego Health said it had received three patients who had been transferred by ECRMC air ambulance.
Three of the four patients treated at Desert Regional Medical Center were in the intensive care unit, Todd Burke, the hospital’s communications director, told CNN.
At least one of the injured passengers of the SUV was discharged from the hospital, Watson said.
U.S. authorities are working closely with the Mexican consulate to determine who was in the SUV and to notify their next of kin.
Special agents from the San Diego Department of Homeland Security are investigating whether human trafficking was involved, a U.S. immigration and customs spokesman told CNN in a statement.
The National Transportation Safety Board also said it would investigate the crash.
“NTSB in conjunction with CHP is conducting a safety investigation into Tuesday’s fatal crash with an SUV and a truck near Holtville, California,” reads a statement via Twitter.
“NTSB’s chief investigating officer is expected to arrive on Wednesday, and later two other investigators will be with them.”
CNN’s Konstantin Toropin, Stella Chan, Alexandra Meeks, Steve Almasy, Priscilla Alvarez, Jaqueline Hurtado and Paul P. Murphy contributed to this report.