1994 — March 9, Pickup Truck with 20 illegals wrecks, I-15 near Barstow, CA — 12

—  12  Chronicle Telegram, Elyria, OH. “12 illegals killed as pickup crashes.” 3-10-1944, 3.

—  12  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  FARS 1975-2010 Fatality Analysis.

—  12  Syracuse Herald Journal, NY. “12 killed in California when pickup flips.” 3-9-1994, A6.

 

Narrative Information

 

March 9: “Barstow, Calif. – A pickup truck crossing an overpass overturned today, killing 12 occupants and seriously injuring seven others, authorities said.  The pickup overturned about 5:45 a.m. on Interstate 15 near Barstow. said Carol Martinez, a dispatcher with the California Highway Patrol. Twelve people were reported dead and there were seven with “major injuries,” she said.  It was not immediately known how the accident occurred, Martinez said. Barstow is in San Bernardino County about 90 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles.”  (Syracuse Herald Journal, NY. “12 killed in California when pickup flips.” 3-9-1994, A6.)

 

March 10: “Barstow, Calif. (AP) — Twenty illegal immigrants from south of the border pooled their cash to buy a pickup truck in Arizona and made a dash for Los Angeles, urging the sleepless driver on through the night. The journey ended 11 hours later with 12 people dead in a ditch in the Mojave Desert.  The driver apparently fell asleep at the wheel.  “There were bodies all over the place,” said Robert Silver, a motorist who was among the first on the scene. “Bodies lay on top of bodies. People in pain lay on top of people in pain.”  Shoes, shreds of clothing and the torn shell that had covered the truck bed were scattered amid sagebrush.

 

“The pickup drifted off Interstate 15 just before sunrise Wednesday and slammed into a drainage ditch, buckling in half and flinging off the shell. Thirteen people were thrown from the wreck.

 

“Seven men and five women — one of them pregnant – were killed.  None had identification the

California Highway Patrol said.

 

“Seven of the eight survivors remained hospitalized Wednesday night, including the driver, Aidan B. Ordonez.  He was reported in critical condition after surgery for internal injuries and back and ankle fractures.

 

“The CHP said it would book Ordonez for investigation of 12 counts of vehicular manslaughter.

 

“The one survivor who was released, Alejandro Henriquez, said all 20 people were from El Salvador and had entered the United States illegally, walking over the border Tuesday at Nogales, Ariz.  Henriquez, 24, said he hiked, rode buses and bribed his way from El Salvador at a cost of $2,000.” (Chronicle Telegram, Elyria, OH. “12 illegals killed as pickup crashes.” 3-10-1944, 3.)

Sources

 

Chronicle-Telegram, Elyria, OH. “12 illegals killed as pickup crashes.” 3-10-1944, 3. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/chronicle-telegram/1994-03-10/page-3/

 

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Partial Data Dump of Crashes Involving 10 or More Fatalities, by Year, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 1975-2009 Final and 2010 ARF. Washington, DC: NHTSA, pdf file provided to Wayne Blanchard, 1-26-2012.

 

Syracuse Herald Journal, NY. “12 killed in California when pickup flips,” 3-9-1994, A6.  Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/syracuse-herald-journal/1994-03-09/page-74/