Two people were killed when the driver of a minivan suspected of smuggling four illegal immigrants crashed while trying to avoid Border Patrol agents near Douglas on Tuesday evening.
Federal agents later arrested a Maricopa County teenager in connection with the incident on suspicion of human smuggling, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Tucson.
The driver of the minivan, a 17-year-old U.S. citizen, was critically injured in the crash and died later at a local hospital, according to a news release from the Customs and Border Protection. A passenger in the minivan, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, was ejected during the rollover and died in the crash, the CBP said. Their names were not released.
A total of five people were in the minivan when it crashed, the CBP said. Two of the occupants were taken by helicopter to a hospital in Tucson in critical condition. Another person was treated for injuries and released to the Border Patrol.
According to the CBP, Border Patrol agents stopped a vehicle on Arizona 80 north of Douglas at about 7 p.m. Tuesday. As agents were dealing with that vehicle a second vehicle, a white Honda minivan suspected of smuggling illegal immigrants, passed and failed to stop for agents. The minivan headed east with agents in pursuit toward the New Mexico state line.
A CBP helicopter on patrol responded to the chase and was able to get ahead of the minivan and land, according to the complaint filed in federal court. An agent from the helicopter placed tire spikes across the road in an attempt to stop the van, the complaint said.
The minivan's driver attempted to avoid the tire spikes but lost control of the vehicle and it rolled over several times, according to the complaint.
Emergency medical personnel, including a Life Flight medical helicopter, were called in to the scene to assist the injured, the CBP said.
Federal agents investigating the crash determined that the first vehicle, a 2102 XJL Jaguar, that was stopped by Border Patrol agents was carrying four illegal immigrants and was traveling together with the minivan that later crashed.
The driver of the Jaguar, Kiano Taliafero Williams, 18, was arrested on suspicion of human smuggling, according to the federal complaint.
Williams later told investigators that he and the minivan driver were smuggling the immigrants to Phoenix for money, the complaint stated.
Williams was arrested Phoenix in 2019 on charges of aggravated assault of a corrections officer. He pleaded guilty earlier this year to that charge and was sentenced to three years supervised probation, according to Maricopa County online court records.
