Victims were illegal immigrants
Traffic: Some names released in Elk City crash that killed seven

By Ron Jackson

Published: January 17, 2007

ELK CITY — Riders in a minivan that crashed during the recent ice storm — a wreck that killed seven people — were illegal immigrants from Mexico being taken to North Carolina, an immigration official confirmed Tuesday.

"This was a smuggling operation,” said Carl Rusnok, a spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's regional office in Dallas. "Right now, we're in the process of determining whether or not this was part of a bigger smuggling ring.”

Six passengers and the driver were killed about 3:50 a.m. Sunday after the van slid across the median and spun into an oncoming tractor-trailer going west on Interstate 40 near Elk City. All seven victims were thrown from the vehicle.

Driver Miguel Marquez-Vargas, 32, and Francisco Marquez-Vargas, 19, of Acaxochitlan, Mexico, were among those found dead at the scene. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol is withholding the names of the five other victims until next of kin can be notified — a process that "could take weeks,” patrol Lt. Pete Norwood said.

Eleven of the van's 12 occupants have been identified, Rusnok said.

Truck driver Donald Ray Reeves, 54, of Midwest City was unharmed.

Agents later learned the occupants of the van were headed for Durham, N.C., presumably to find work.

Agents were notified of the possible smuggling operation by Oklahoma troopers roughly three hours after the wreck, Rusnok said.

At least one survivor — Pedro Valdez, 56, of Mexico — was taken into custody by federal agents Sunday after being released from the Great Plains Medical Center in Elk City. He was held at the Beckham County jail in Sayre, where Rusnok said he awaits deportation.

"If it is determined that he has no criminal history in the United States, then I would imagine he'll be sent back to Mexico right away,” Rusnok said.

Two other survivors — Mexican nationals Sergio Yanez-Martinez and Mitxi Vasquez — were released from the hospital Monday, Great Plains spokesman Stephen Ryhmer said. Their whereabouts are unknown.

Gaudencio P. Perez, 17, of Mexico and Eurencio V. Gonzales, 20, of Durham, N.C., remained in the hospital with injuries.

Both have been identified as Mexican nationals.