Officer Held Blameless in I-5 Death

A Border Patrol officer who was driving an agency van that struck and killed a pedestrian late Sunday near the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego was not at fault in the incident, a California Highway Patrol official said Wednesday.

The accident occurred at 8:30 p.m. Sunday when four men--all undocumented immigrants from Mexico--emerged from roadside bushes and attempted to cross the off-ramp that leads from Interstate 5 to Camino de la Plaza in the San Ysidro area, said Larry Urban, a CHP traffic officer in San Diego.

The victim was the last of the group of four to attempt the dash across the ramp, Urban said. The Border Patrol van, which was traveling 40 to 45 m.p.h., well below the legal speed limit of 55, attempted unsuccessfully to avoid hitting the man, Urban said.

All four men were undocumented Mexican citizens from the northern state of Sinaloa, Urban said. All had crossed the border, which is about one-half mile north of the site of the incident, shortly before the incident, authorities said.

The dead man was identified as Jose Carlos Martinez Carrillo, 20, a former resident of Lamont, Calif. Among those in the group of four were the dead man’s brother, Efrain Martinez Carrillo, 17.

The agent driving the van was identified as William Hughes, 27.

“It’s unfortunate, but people running out of dark bushes onto a highway can get hit,” said Ted A. Swofford, a Border Patrol supervisory agent, who said the agent would likely be returned immediately to normal duties.

In recent years, scores of immigrants have been killed on or near I-5 just north of the border. The eight-lane freeway and other high-speed roadways form imposing barriers for border jumpers en route north.

The dead man was the fifth immigrant to be struck and killed in the I-5 area near the border zone thus far in 1991, the CHP said. Last year, 17 were hit and killed in the zone; there were 24 such deaths in 1989 and 29 in 1988, the CHP said.

State crews have posted warning signs, installed flashing lights and taken other actions designed to reduce the carnage. But the accidents continue.

About 70 miles to the north, dozens of pedestrians have also been killed in recent years while attempting to hike around the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint along I-5 north of Oceanside. A record 15 were killed last year.

However, no deaths have been reported thus far in 1991, said Capt. Ron Phulps of the CHP. He attributed the decline to a variety of factors: placement of warning signs along the freeway; clearing of roadside brush that provides cover to unauthorized pedestrians; greater awareness of the danger among motorists and immigrants and a continuing CHP enforcement campaign aimed at reducing the numbers of speeding vehicles.