The driver of a minivan which held four unauthorized immigrants after it crashed in Boulevard has been charged with transportation of aliens for financial gains.
A U.S. Border Patrol agent said he spotted Ashley Alexandra Moreno, 23, stop near mile marker 32.5 on Old Highway 80 on Feb. 19. Two people ran across the road and got inside the blue minivan.
The agent said he noticed Moreno turn around and go to another area on Old Highway 80 and two people came out of the brush and got inside.
He began to follow Moreno at 5 p.m. and observed she drove erratic, from side to side and over the painted lines. The agent requested info about the vehicle and it is registered in Downey, California, with numerous crossings through the Calexico port of entry.
Another agent attempted to pull Moreno over, but Moreno began driving at a high rate of speed, passing other motorists on both lanes. A supervisor advised the agents to terminate pursuit as the minivan drove through curves in the road.
At 5:13 p.m., the minivan lost control and spun out on the 1000 block of Shasta Way in Boulevard. Agents called an ambulance and found one person unconscious and unresponsive. He and others were transported to a hospital.
One immigrant tried to conceal himself in brush, but was arrested, as was Moreno.
Interviews with four people inside the minivan showed that all of them were not legally in the U.S.
A preliminary hearing was set for March 5.
