Eight people were killed when a sport utility vehicle carrying 27 suspected illegal immigrants "stacked like logs" rolled over near Sonoita late Saturday.
The driver lost control of the Ford Excursion, causing the SUV to roll and eject several passengers shortly before midnight on Arizona 82 about four miles east of Sonoita, said Officer Joy Craig, a spokeswoman for the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
The vehicle was not being chased by any law enforcement at the time of the crash, southeast of Tucson in Santa Cruz County, officials said.
Five people were flown to University Medical Center, and seven others were driven to hospitals in Tucson and Sierra Vista.
Initially, 22 people were believed to be in the SUV, but the number grew Sunday as five survivors surfaced around Sonoita claiming to have survived the wreck and requesting medical treatment, Craig said. They were transferred to local hospitals.
The rear seat of the large SUV had been removed, and passengers were piled on top of each other.
"They were literally stuffed inside the vehicle," Craig said. "They were stacked like logs."
The DPS had not yet identified the driver. The agency will rely on evidence from the scene and injuries sustained by victims to narrow the investigation, Craig said.
"Processing of fingerprints and DNA from the vehicle, as well as the manner of injuries of the victims, will help identify if the driver, if the person is alive," Craig said. "The driver most likely will have a chest compression — in some cases even a steering wheel imprint."
The driver would face charges if found. The crash is a "(multi-) homicide scene," Craig said.
All occupants are believed to be illegal immigrants from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Ecuador, said Omar Candelaria, a U.S. Border Patrol spokesman.
Eight people were released from hospitals into Border Patrol custody Sunday and were interviewed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for information regarding the smuggling, Candelaria said.
Arizona 82 and the area around it are common corridors for illegal activity, including human smuggling, Craig said.
Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada said the crash's toll was the largest of its kind he could recall.
"It is a tragic accident," Estrada said. "It took a great response from a number of people to handle the magnitude of it."
The death toll, however, is not unprecedented. A one-vehicle rollover crash of an SUV in August 2008 on Arizona 79 near Florence killed 10 and injured nine people, all illegal immigrants.
Other recent fatal crashes involving illegal immigrants in the region include:
• April 18, 2009 — Four people died when a van carrying 13 illegal immigrants crashed on Interstate 19 near Green Valley.
• Dec. 14, 2008 — A stolen truck carrying illegal immigrants crashed in Eloy, killing two and injuring 11 others.
• April 27, 2008 — A pickup truck jammed with as many as 60 people crashed and rolled near Arizona City, about 60 miles south of Phoenix. Four were killed.
