Utah People's Post

The Latest News from the Beehive State

Monday, January 30, 2023
Log in
  • National News
    • Female Caseworker Killed & Doctor Shot in Philadelphia
  • State News
    • Car Chase Leads to Drug Arrest
  • Tech & Science
  • Health
    • How to Prepare For Ticks Season
    • Magical Weight Loss Bean Scam
  • Sports
  • Business
You are here: Home / National News / Utah Minivan Crash Killed Four, Human Trafficking Possibility Being Investigated

Utah Minivan Crash Killed Four, Human Trafficking Possibility Being Investigated

May 16, 2014 Posted by Editor

A crash of a minivan carrying nine people on Utah’s main east-west highway near the Colorado border killed four people and injured four others. The accident occurred on Friday at Interstate 70 about 30 miles west from the Colorado line.

1-westantarctiThe police is now inspecting about the involvement of the vehicle, 1999 Toyota Sienna in human smuggling. They were looking for one person who was in the van but fled after the wreck.

According to the authorities four passengers were thrown from the van as it rolled down the middle of I-70 at about 4:30 a.m. It is still uncertain whether they were the four who died.

Investigators are unsure of the grounds of the crash, but they refuse the involvement of any other vehicle, Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Todd Royce said.

A smashed windshield and right door, and at least one missing wheel can be seen in the photos released by authorities.

All of the passengers are believed to be undocumented as the police were still investigating and did not yet know how old the passengers were, who they were, where do they belong from, or who was driving the minivan as none speak English.

This fact, along with the number of people in the car and the individual who fled, has led authorities to be certain of the van and its passengers being part of a human trafficking operation.

Human trafficking is the modern form of slavery, with illegal smuggling and trading of people, for forced labour or sexual exploitation.

In the U.S., human trafficking tends to prevail more around international travel-hubs like California and Texas, those with large immigrant populations.

File-of-all-Palantir-Maps-for-NHTRC-5-Year-Report

According to estimation by the U.S. Justice Department, 17,500 people are trafficked into the country every year, but the actual figure could be greater, because of the large numbers of undocumented immigrants.

Federal anti-trafficking task forces opened 2,515 suspected cases of human trafficking, from 2008 to 2010,

82% of suspected incidents were classified as sex trafficking and nearly half of these involved minor victims.

Approximately 10% of the incidents were classified as labor trafficking.

2

According to the Department of State, the U.S. was identified as a Tier 1 country with unspecified federal agencies charging 181 individuals with trafficking other humans and obtaining 141 convictions in 103 human trafficking prosecutions.

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 includes “involuntary servitude, slavery or practices similar to slavery, debt bondage and forced labor.”

Utah Highway Patrol is working with Immigration Customs Enforcement on the crash.

The survivors were brought to St. Mary’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Grand Junction, Colorado by the Emergency crews. Their injuries vacillated from serious to critical, Royce said.

Utah Department of Transportation spokesman John Gleason said that the crash shut down the interstate, backing up eastbound traffic for 5 miles.

Gleason said traffic was flowing routinely at about 10:15 a.m., approximately an hour after the reopening of one eastbound lane.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Email

Filed Under: National News, Salt Lake News, State News Tagged With: Crash, crash killed four, Crime, human smuggling, Investigation, killed, trafficking, utah, utah minivan

Woman working out at the gym

Just 23% of Americans Are Working Out Enough in Their Spare Time

June 29, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Poliovirus Therapy Gives Brain Cancer Patients New Hope (Study)

June 29, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

United Airlines airplane

Passenger Mysteriously Dies on United Airlines flight Bound for Boston

June 28, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Breakfast sandwich

Here Are Some Foods No Nutritionist Would Ever Eat

June 27, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Poppy flower

UN Warns of Surge in Opium-based Drugs and Cocaine Supply

June 27, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

U.S.-Canada border

French Jogger Detained 2 Weeks for Accidentally Crossing Border

June 26, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Plus size model

Normalizing Plus Size Could Fuel Obesity Crisis (Study)

June 25, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Giant manta ray

Unique Manta Ray Nursery Spotted off Texas Coast

June 23, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

The rainbow flag

WHO Scraps Transgenderism from List of Mental Illnesses

June 22, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

456 People Dead at U.K. Hospital after Taking too Many Painkillers

June 21, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Kenyan girls dancing

Kenyans Facing Poor Nutrition as Supermarket Shopping Is on the Rise

June 20, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Pages

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy GDPR
  • Staff
  • Terms and Conditions

Recent Posts

  • Just 23% of Americans Are Working Out Enough in Their Spare Time
  • Poliovirus Therapy Gives Brain Cancer Patients New Hope (Study)
  • Passenger Mysteriously Dies on United Airlines flight Bound for Boston
  • Here Are Some Foods No Nutritionist Would Ever Eat
  • UN Warns of Surge in Opium-based Drugs and Cocaine Supply
  • French Jogger Detained 2 Weeks for Accidentally Crossing Border
  • Normalizing Plus Size Could Fuel Obesity Crisis (Study)

Related Articles

  • U.S.-Canada border

    French Jogger Detained 2 Weeks for Accidentally Crossing Border

    Jun 26, 2018
  • Billboard on Texas Interstate Kindly Asking Liberals to Leave

    Jun 20, 2018
  • Crime scene tape

    Utah Dad Charged after Toddler Fatally Shoots Self in Head

    Jun 8, 2018
  • U.S. Border Patrol Agents surveying border

    Border Patrol Busts 51K People Trying to illegally Cross Border

    Jun 7, 2018
  • Alabama 4-Year-Old Is Feeding the Homeless in a Superhero Cape

    May 22, 2018
  • Electronic cigarette in man's hand

    Electronic Cigarette Blows Up in Florida Man’s Face, Killing Him

    May 17, 2018
  • CIA Hacking Tool Leaker Faces Child Porn Charges

    May 16, 2018
  • First Lady Melania Trump

    First Lady Melania Trump Recovering from Serious Surgery

    May 15, 2018
  • Mormon Temple in Utah

    Mormons Break 105-year Alliance with the Boy Scouts

    May 10, 2018
  • House Speaker Paul Ryan

    Paul Ryan Denies Dismissing House Chaplain over Politics

    May 4, 2018

Categories

  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Health
  • National News
  • Nature
  • Provo
  • Salt Lake News
  • Science
  • Sports
  • State News
  • Tech & Science
  • Technology
  • Uncategorized
  • West Jordan
  • West Valley City
  • World

Copyright © 2023 utahpeoplespost.com

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Site Map · Contact