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5 Killed, 12 Injured in AZ Crash
ARTHUR H. ROTSTEIN, Associated Press Writer
(AP) TUCSON, Ariz.
Five people were killed and 12 others airlifted to Arizona hospitals with injuries Wednesday after a van crashed about 50 miles east of Tucson, authorities said.
The driver of the large van lost control while heading west on Interstate 10 at about 2 p.m. Wednesday and the vehicle rolled over a guard rail, down an embankment and landed on its wheels in the left lane of eastbound traffic, Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Officer Robert Bailey said.
Although officials originally believed the group to be tourists from Tanzania, the director of a relief agency in Tucson said the people were Burundians who had fled to a Tanzanian refugee camp before having relocated to Tucson.
The group was seeking work at Eurofresh, Inc., a hydroponics vegetable grower in Willcox, Ariz., said Ken Briggs, executive director of the International Rescue Committee's Tucson office.
Eurofresh has become a major southern Arizona employer of refugees seeking to become self-sufficient.
Bailey said according to DPS officials at the crash site, five people had died and 12 survivors were taken in helicopters to hospitals in the region.
Jean Spinelli, a spokeswoman at University Medical Center, the only trauma center in southern Arizona, said six of the 11 people brought in from the crash were listed in critical condition and the other five in serious condition.
Tucson Medical Center spokesman Mike Letson said one person had been airlifted to the center. No condition was available.
Briggs said his staff was working to try to assist the hospitals and the families involved.
He said the Burundians had been living in Tucson for a few years.
The IRC, which has 24 regional offices in the United States, helps refugees resettle in the U.S. and become self-sufficient.
It helps provide emergency relief, human rights protection, rehabilitation, post-conflict development and resettlement services.
The crash, which occurred in the Texas Canyon area about 70 miles west of New Mexico, caused a miles-long backup for eastbound traffic for several hours but was reopened before nightfall, Bailey said.
The cause of the crash was under investigation, Bailey said.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
(AP) TUCSON, Ariz.
Five people were killed and 12 others airlifted to Arizona hospitals with injuries Wednesday after a van crashed about 50 miles east of Tucson, authorities said.
The driver of the large van lost control while heading west on Interstate 10 at about 2 p.m. Wednesday and the vehicle rolled over a guard rail, down an embankment and landed on its wheels in the left lane of eastbound traffic, Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Officer Robert Bailey said.
Although officials originally believed the group to be tourists from Tanzania, the director of a relief agency in Tucson said the people were Burundians who had fled to a Tanzanian refugee camp before having relocated to Tucson.
The group was seeking work at Eurofresh, Inc., a hydroponics vegetable grower in Willcox, Ariz., said Ken Briggs, executive director of the International Rescue Committee's Tucson office.
Eurofresh has become a major southern Arizona employer of refugees seeking to become self-sufficient.
Bailey said according to DPS officials at the crash site, five people had died and 12 survivors were taken in helicopters to hospitals in the region.
Jean Spinelli, a spokeswoman at University Medical Center, the only trauma center in southern Arizona, said six of the 11 people brought in from the crash were listed in critical condition and the other five in serious condition.
Tucson Medical Center spokesman Mike Letson said one person had been airlifted to the center. No condition was available.
Briggs said his staff was working to try to assist the hospitals and the families involved.
He said the Burundians had been living in Tucson for a few years.
The IRC, which has 24 regional offices in the United States, helps refugees resettle in the U.S. and become self-sufficient.
It helps provide emergency relief, human rights protection, rehabilitation, post-conflict development and resettlement services.
The crash, which occurred in the Texas Canyon area about 70 miles west of New Mexico, caused a miles-long backup for eastbound traffic for several hours but was reopened before nightfall, Bailey said.
The cause of the crash was under investigation, Bailey said.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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