At least 13 people are dead after a crash in California near the Mexico-American border, according to officials.
The vehicle was traveling on Norrish Road near State Route 115 early Tuesday morning when it ended up “in the direct path” of a semi-truck traveling on the highway as well, California Highway Patrol officer Arturo Platero said, according to CNN.
#ImperialValley All lanes of NB & SB SR-115 at
Norrish Rd closed due to a traffic collision. pic.twitter.com/kAuSMnZTQa— Caltrans San Diego (@SDCaltrans) March 2, 2021
The Ford Expedition, which had 25 passengers, collided with a semi-truck filled with gravel, California Highway Patrol Chief Omar Watson said, according to NPR.
“At this point, it’s unknown whether or not the Expedition stopped at the stop sign, but it did enter the intersection in front of the big rig,” he said, according to the report.
Watson said 12 occupants, including the driver, were dead on scene and an additional person later died at the hospital.
Managing Director of the Emergency Room Department at El Centro Regional Medical Center Judy Cruz originally said in a press briefing Tuesday morning that the hospital believes there were 27 passengers in the SUV and that there were 14 dead.
Imperial County Fire Chief Alfredo Estrada Jr. also originally told the Daily Caller that the vehicle was carrying 19 occupants, including the driver. (RELATED: Tiger Woods Isn’t Facing Charges After Horrible Car Crash)
⛔MASS CASUALTY INCIDENT⛔
BUS CRASH INTO TRUCK
AT LEAST SEVENTEEN(17) DEAD
NUMEROUS INJURIES
DETAILS DEVELOPING
HOLTVILLE, CALIFORNIA
IMPERIAL COUNTY
HIGHWAY 115 & NORRISH RFAS PER ????♂️#POLICE ????#SCANNER#NewsAlert #SpecialReport#HappeningNow https://t.co/jS1MzGpvVI pic.twitter.com/1QAY6u5ePf
— @OneJurorMatters (@OneJurorMatters) March 2, 2021
Estrada told the Daily Caller that most of the passengers were ejected from the vehicle and that he could confirm that at least 12 individuals had died on scene.
El Centro Regional Medical Center CEO Adolphe Edward said patients were “going through a difficult time as you can imagine” during the press briefing.
“This was a major accident and we are taking care of them in the emergency room department,” he continued.
Fifteen first responders and 5 fire engines responded to the scene, Deputy Fire Chief Sal Flores said, according to KNX 10.70.
The crash is under investigation.
The Daily Caller has reached out to the Imperial County Police Department and the California Highway Patrol but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
This story has been updated to reflect changes in official reporting on the death count.