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Carly Henry, The Republic | azcentral.com

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PHOENIX – Eight people died when two vehicles – one of them undocumented – collided frontally while traveling just south of Florence, Arizona.

The accident occurred shortly before 22 hours. MT Wednesday near mile 122 on State Route 79, according to the Arizona Department of Public Security.

A nine-passenger Chevrolet Suburban was moving northward as a south-facing Buick passenger vehicle crossed the center line and hit the Suburban head on, according to the DPS.

The authorities initially reported that nine people had died, but that number was later increased to eight.

Only the driver and front passenger of the Suburban were US citizens. The other seven passengers were undocumented immigrants, according to the DPS.

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Six of the nine occupants of the Suburban are dead. The other three passengers were taken to seriously injured hospitals in the area.

The driver and front passenger of the Buick are also dead.

Soldiers work with homeland security investigations to identify victims.

For years, Route 79 through Florence has been seen as a way for smuggling organizations to transport groups of undocumented immigrants who have recently crossed the southern Arizona border illegally to the Greater London area. Phoenix. to cities in other states.

Smugglers use return roads to try to bypass the border patrol and local law enforcement along major highways.

In June 2004, a 12-passenger van, overloaded with at least 24 migrants, blew a tire on State Route 79 about 1.5 miles south of the University of the United States and killed two people. 22 wounded. This accident was part of a wave of collisions that killed at least 19 migrants.

But car accidents in southern Arizona, where undocumented immigrants were very numerous, have become less common in recent years, with flows of migrants illegally crossing the border falling to some of the lowest levels since decades.

The US Immigration and Customs Agency in Arizona sent back inquiries about the crash to DPS, which did not immediately respond to a request for additional comments. The Pinal County Sheriff's Office also did not respond immediately. US Customs and Border Protection officials in Arizona said they were not involved in the investigation.

The highway was reopened after 4 pm Thursday.

The investigation is underway.

Contributor: Daniel Gonzalez

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