2nd woman dies from van crash

Published: Saturday, Oct. 15 2005 12:00 a.m. MDT

A second woman died Friday from injuries suffered when a minivan carrying 16 immigrants crashed in southeastern Utah, the Utah Highway Patrol said.

The woman, a Guatemalan citizen believed to be in her early 20s, died at St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction, Colo., said Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Wade Breur.

The woman's identity is not known, he said.

She was riding in a van from Phoenix to Denver when the van ran off the road and rolled. UHP said the van's 17-year-old driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel and crashed.

A 20-year-old Guatemalan woman died at the scene, about 26 miles southeast of Moab.

The driver was later found walking along the road nearby and was turned over to immigration officials.

The crash occurred in a remote area of Utah. The highway patrol is working with federal immigration officials to identify the passengers, most of whom are believed to be in the U.S. illegally from Mexico and Guatemala.

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