Smuggling Operation Led To Death Of 7 In Traffic Accident

Tuesday, January 16th 2007, 12:01 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ A federal immigration officers says the passengers in a minivan that crashed on a slick Oklahoma interstate during a winter storm Sunday were illegal immigrants being smuggled into the US.

Seven of the 12 people in the van died in the crash after the van skidded on ice on I-40 and crossed the median then was hit head-on by a tractor-trailer rig. The five survivors were hospitalized in Elk City and at least one has been released and arrested by federal agents.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Carl Rusnok says the van was being used to smuggle the passengers into the United States.

The van was traveling eastbound from Nogales, Arizona, heading for North Carolina along what Rusnok says is a common route used by smugglers.