Three counts of second-degree murder were filed Dec. 4 against the truck driver whose truck overturned killing three undocumented migrants in Boulevard during a chase by U.S. Border Patrol agents.
The chase occurred Nov. 29 after Luis Alberto Virgen, 21, refused to pull over after Border Patrol agents attempted to stop the vehicle after it got onto Interstate 8 from Buckman Springs Road.
Virgen was driving recklessly, weaving in and out of traffic, according to authorities, who estimated he drove at 100 mph at times. A spike strip was placed on the road, and the truck ran over it while it was raining.
The vehicle overturned, ejecting 10 people east of Crestwood Road on a dirt and rock embankment.
Erika Gonzalez-Cardoso, 38, was killed from multiple blunt force injuries, according to the San Diego County medical examiner’s office.
A 34-year-old man also died from blunt force injuries, but the medical examiner’s office has not released the name. Another man, 22, also died from blunt force head injuries, but his relatives could also not be reached by the medical examiner’s office.
The time of death for all three people was listed at 4:27 p.m., which is approximately eight minutes after the crash. All three people were pronounced dead at the scene.
Virgen appeared Dec. 4 before El Cajon Superior Court Judge Robert Amador and the arraignment was re-set for Dec. 18 while he looks for an attorney.
Amador set bail at $3 million and Virgen remains in jail.
Deputy District Attorney Clayton Carr told reporters the murder charges were filed because “the defendant acted with conscious disregard for life.”
Virgen is also charged with three counts of gross vehicular manslaughter and seven counts of reckless driving causing injuries. The surviving immigrants in the truck were also arrested and some of them may be witnesses in the case.