Border Patrol SUV hit by train; 2 agents killed

[Viva_La_Revolution]

Source: azcentral

Two Border Patrol agents were killed early Thursday morning after their SUV was struck by a train near Interstate 8 in the Gila Bend area, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.

The agents apparently were pursuing a group of suspected illegal immigrants when their SUV was hit, said Kenneth Quillin of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The black Border Patrol SUV appeared to have been dragged along the tracks nearly a quarter of a mile.



Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/05/12/20110512arizona-train-border-patrol-crash-abrk.html

[glowing]

1. Isn't this the county which has that Sheriff that has been indicted on charges.

I hope they weren't witnesses... Who knows if they were proped up on the tracks to rid evidence.

I get way to tinfoily when it comes to anything Puke and criminal.

[Kali]

2. horrible

trains take a long distance to stop and they travel way faster than it looks when you are sitting there

lot of pretty inexperienced kids getting hired in that agency


Gila Bend - yeah that's right on the border:eyes:

If the "Border Patrol" actually "patrolled" on the BORDER we probably wouldn't need billion dollar walls or have these kinds of accidents.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

5. Inexperienced kids? Both had 10 years of service.

I can't remember how I felt when I was 35. Did I feel invincible and immortal? Hmm, maybe.

I don't suppose we'll ever know about alcohol, if any.

[Kali]

6. I didn't see an age (or the experience level) for the two agents, but my experience is direct

lots of young kids running around out here - don't even know how to change their own tires when they get flats from driving off-road (which they do way too much of)

[krispos42]

3. "We've got our lights on... the train will swerve out of our way"

*shakes head sadly*

I always wonder how these things happen.

[mikeytherat]

7. They almost always happen like this:

"Gonna beat the train! Gonna beat the train! Gonna beat the train! Not gonna be..."


mikey_the_rat

[MicaelS]

10. People easily misjudge the speed

Of an approaching train. It's hard to do on straight track. Or, else they get impatient, and don't want to wait 5 minutes before the train passes.

[emilyg]

4. Terrible.

[liberalla]

8. "The FBI is taking over the investigation."

Thank goodness! I don't trust local law enforcement to tell us the truth.
It was an unmarked Border Patrol SUV.

"The 4,600-ton train was going 62 mph at the time of the collision and the crew sounded the whistle about a quarter-mile before the wreck.

When the Tahoe turned on to the crossing, it was immediately in front of the locomotive and the crew was helpless, Hunt said."

WTF?

[dipsydoodle]

9. Wouldn't have thought there was much to investigate

Broadly speaking when it comes to railroad tracks trains have right of way.

[liberalla]

12. Anything regarding border patrol, drug smuggling and "illegal aliens"

gets turned into a huge political battle out here. Jan Brewer, Joe Arpaio and Tom Horne start yelling/whining/claiming that Obama is weak on border security and we need more Border Agents/Natl. Guard/fence/MONEY/high tech surveillance, whatever...

They have politicized events and recreated reality/lied (IMO) about previous incidents to try to get an advantage. I don't trust them at all.

I have a much higher opinion of the Pima County and Santa Cruz County Sheriffs.

[JonLP24]

11. Interesting articles

Border Agents Killed by Train Were Tracking "Drug Traffickers," According to AG Tom Horne -- Which is News to Border Patrol Authorities
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2011/05/border_agents_killed_by_train.php

Later

Border Agents Killed in Train Wreck Identified. Drugs Found on Group Sought by Agents -- AG Tom Horne Apparently Did Know Something Border Patrol Didn't
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2011/05/border_agents_killed_in_train.php

[liberalla]

13. Something else weird has been revealed about this accident,

the SUV was moving as slow as 3 mph when it was struck.

"Douglas said he wouldn’t speculate on whether the vehicle’s low speed was indicative of a stall. But he said investigators will examine the wreckage of the SUV to see if there were mechanical problems."

http://www.trivalleycentral.com/articles/2011/05/14/front/doc4dceca8fb905c579460017.txt