Fourth illegal immigrant dies after failed human smuggling attempt (The Monitor)

Fourth illegal immigrant dies after failed human smuggling attempt

By Zack Quaintance
April 4, 2008 - 2:22PM

McALLEN - A fourth illegal immigrant has died from injuries suffered in a recent human smuggling attempt, officials said.
Juan Carlos Castro, 25, was pronounced dead about 4 p.m. Thursday at McAllen Medical Center, said Nina Pruneda, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement.
Castro died from injuries suffered in a March 27 truck crash. A Ford Expedition collided with a Ford F-150 that authorities say was packed with more than 20 illegal immigrants. The wreck happened near the intersection of Expressway 83 and Tom Gill Road, spilling passengers across the highway.
Three illegal immigrants died the day of the wreck, and rescue workers rushed 14 more to area hospitals. Castro, a native of the Mexican state of Michoacán, also lost a brother in the wreck. The two occupants of the Expedition - the driver and a passenger - did not suffer major injuries.
After the collision, an unknown number of people ran from the truck. U.S. Border Patrol agents captured and deported several of the passengers. Investigators believe the pickup truck's driver was smuggling immigrants into the country. He was among those who fled the scene and was still at large Friday.
"We still haven't found the perpetrator behind this criminal scheme," Pruneda said. "It's an ongoing investigation."
Four of the immigrants remained hospitalized Friday, two of them in McAllen and two in San Antonio.
Miriam Medel, spokeswoman for the Mexican Consulate in McAllen, said three remained in critical condition and may yet succumb to their injuries. She expected one of the men in McAllen would be released soon.