Border Patrol was chasing a car that flipped, killing two of the three people who were inside. NBC 7’s Shelby Bremer has a look at how often incidents like this happen.
Two people died after a pursuit involving U.S. Border Patrol agents ended in a rollover crash on state Route 905 in Otay Mesa Tuesday afternoon, officials said.
The collision on westbound SR-905 was reported just after 2:20 p.m., according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. The first SDFD crew arrived around 15 minutes later.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection released little details about the pursuit, but later said the vehicle involved in their pursuit was the same involved in the deadly crash.
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The California Highway Patrol, who is one of several agencies investigating the crash, said a four-door Infiniti G35 driving at a high rate of speed when it crashed into a Caltrans truck that was parked on the side of the road. The car rolled over at least once and landed on its top. The Caltrans truck was in such poor condition it had to be towed away.
CHP investigators originally said two people were in the car, and on Wednesday said there were three. One was found dead after being thrown from the sedan, and the other was taken to Mercy Hospital in Hillcrest to be treated for critical injuries. CBP later confirmed a second fatality.
A 23-year-old driver survived the crash.
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While their identities have not yet been released, the Medical Examiner's office confirmed one man and one woman died. The Mexcian consulate said both of the deceased were from Mexico.
Officials said no Caltrans employees or CBP agents were injured because of the crash.
The CHP — including its Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team (MAIT) — CBP and Caltrans were each conducting their own investigations. MAIT is used for traffic collisions that require more intensive investigations to determine subtle collision and injury causes. CBP said its Office of Professional Responsibility is investigating to determine if protocol was followed.
Westbound traffic on SR-905 came to a halt for hours after the collision. According to Caltrans, all lanes at Britannia Boulevard were closed until just before 11 p.m. During the closure, the agency said northbound SR-125 remained free of tolls.
This is a developing story that will be updated as more information arrives.
