2 charged in deaths of illegal immigrants

Federal prosecutors have charged two people with transporting illegal aliens after a deadly crash on I-70 near Salina.

The U.S. Attorney's Office charged Jose Ricardo Gomez-Garcia, 20, and Fernanddo Pineda-Roblero, 25, in connection with the March 24 crash that killed two people and injured several others. A Utah Highway Patrol trooper responded to a rollover on I-70, where the driver is believed to have fallen asleep at the wheel.

The trooper found that a dozen people had been crammed into a vehicle equipped with only six seats and safety belts. Under questioning by federal immigration agents, one of the passengers admitted she paid nearly $5,000 to be smuggled into the United States from Guatemala.

The passenger "stated that there were a total of 10 undocumented aliens from Guatemala," Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Leslie Derewonko wrote in an affidavit filed with the charges.

The UHP said the driver of the vehicle dozed off just outside of Salina and the van veered off the road. It went over rumble strips, which awoke the driver, who then swerved, UHP trooper Cameron Roden said at the time. The van hit a guardrail and rolled.

"Gomez admitted that he was the driver at the time of the accident and the driver the entire time from Los Angeles," Derewonko wrote. "Gomez admitted that Pineda was to assist as a driver."

The men are both in U.S. marshal's custody and are scheduled to be in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City on Friday. Both face up to 10 years in federal prison if convicted.

— Ben Winslow