6 are booked into jail after fatal crash in Dixie

Six people were booked into the Purgatory Jail late Thursday on immigration holds stemming from a rollover on state Route 59 that killed two.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Lori Haley said the six are being questioned to determine their nationality.

"It takes a while to sort that thing out," she said Friday.

So far, ICE believes some of the people involved in the accident are from Guatemala.

A pickup truck stuffed with eight people believed to be illegal immigrants crashed near the Apple Valley turnoff early Thursday morning. The pickup was headed to Hurricane when it went off the road.

A 27-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman were ejected and killed. The rest suffered minor injuries. The Utah Highway Patrol said driver fatigue appears to be the cause of the crash.

"The driver and one other occupant were from Las Vegas most recently. The rest were Guatemalan nationals," UHP trooper Randall Akers said Friday.

When asked if it appeared to be a case of human smuggling, Haley said, "we're looking at that, absolutely."

No criminal charges have been filed.

In April, an SUV carrying 14 illegal immigrants from Mexico and Guatemala crashed in Utah's Four Corners area. Eight people were killed.

Three men were indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with that crash, charged with transporting illegal aliens resulting in death.

The driver in that accident, Rigoberto Sales-Lopez, is in custody, along with Felipe Sales-Perez. Both are scheduled for a July 9 trial. Adolfo Manuel Espinoza has not been arrested, and no trial date has been set.

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