Migrant, 19, accused in crash that kills 2

DAVID L. TEIBEL and CARLI BROSSEAU

Published: 04.15.2008

A 19-year-old Mexican man has been charged in connection with driving a pickup truck full of illegal immigrants that crashed near Sierra Vista Sunday, killing two and injuring four others.

Francisco Javier Morquecho-Valdez was charged Monday with transporting illegal aliens for profit resulting in death, U.S. Attorney's Office spokeswoman Sandy Raynor said in a news release. He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted, she said.

Nine of those in the truck were turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol to be held as material witnesses in the case or to be processed for voluntary return to Mexico, said Vincent Picard, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman.

Four witnesses said Morquecho-Valdez was the driver of the truck that picked them up near Naco after their trek through the desert, Raynor said. One said he was bound for New York at a cost of $2,500, she said.