3 are indicted in crash that killed 8 near Bluff

A federal grand jury has indicted three people in connection with a crash in Utah's Four Corners area that killed eight illegal immigrants and injured six.

Rigoberto Sales-Lopez, Adolfo Manuel Espinoza, and Felipe Sales-Perez were charged Thursday with transporting illegal aliens resulting in death.

"These are people that we believe had a role in the transportation of the illegal aliens as charged in the indictment," said Melodie Rydalch, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney for Utah.

The Utah Highway Patrol said Sales-Lopez was the driver of an SUV that rolled and crashed April 16 on U.S. 191 near Bluff. Federal immigration agents said the Chevrolet Suburban was stuffed with 14 people — illegal immigrants from Mexico and Guatemala.

Troopers said witnesses indicated Sales-Lopez, 30, was fondling a female passenger when he swerved and rolled the SUV. While people lay dead and wounded, troopers said Sales-Lopez fled into the desert and was chased for 10 miles before being captured. He suffered a broken arm in the crash.

Under questioning by federal immigration agents at the hospital, Sales-Lopez told them a story of human trafficking — and pointed the finger of blame at a man he identified as Neftali Espinoza.

"He stated that Espinoza offered him $1,000 to drive the individuals from Phoenix to St. Louis and also gave him $500 for gas," U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Special Agent Timothy Chard wrote in an affidavit filed with a federal complaint last month.

In Thursday's indictment, Neftali Espinoza is listed as the alias of Adolfo Manuel Espinoza.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said a warrant has been issued for Espinoza, who remains at large. Sales-Perez was a passenger in the SUV and is in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

A 17-year-old passenger remains hospitalized in Colorado. Three of the crash survivors are in federal custody, ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice told the Deseret Morning News on Thursday.

"They will serve as potential witnesses in the upcoming criminal case," she said.

Transporting illegal aliens resulting in death is a charge that carries the death penalty. However, federal prosecutors said they do not intend to seek it in this case.

"We are making a recommendation to the Department of Justice that we don't seek the death penalty," Rydalch said, declining to elaborate.

During an appearance before a federal magistrate judge on Thursday, Sales-Lopez pleaded not guilty to the charge. U.S. Magistrate Judge Brooke Wells set a July 9 trial date on the charge.

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com