Van rollover likely linked to transport of illegals

HANKSVILLE — Law enforcement officials say the driver in a rollover accident near Hanksville early Thursday that injured nine passengers is likely linked to an attempt to transport illegal immigrants.

The Utah Highway Patrol reports that officers responded to a rollover accident on state Route 24 about 20 miles north of Hanksville about 5:30 a.m. Thursday. Troopers arrived to find eight men and one woman, some of whom were thrown from the van they were riding in after it left the road and rolled several times, with a variety of injuries. Six people were in serious to critical condition and transported by three different medical helicopters to hospitals in Provo and Grand Junction, Colo. Three others were transported by ground ambulance to Castle View Hospital in Price and the Green River Medical Center.

UHP Sgt. Darrel Meacham said the driver of the van was reported to have fled the scene on foot — which he said was not uncommon in the circumstances surrounding Thursday's incident.

"Many of those injured in the accident were not able to provide identification … and likely are not residents," Meacham said. "The sad part about these situations, and this looks like a trafficking attempt, is these people were probably taken advantage of and charged a lot of money for this."

Neither the identity nor the whereabouts of the driver of the van where known on Saturday.

Trooper Gary Riches said that agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had detained one passenger who was treated and released in Green River with minor injuries and were investigating the incident.

ICE officials could not be reached Saturday for comment.

Meacham said many of the victims were still hospitalized Saturday, with at least two still in critical condition.

e-mail: araymond@desnews.com