Two U.S. Border Patrol agents were among eight people injured when a motorist crashed into the checkpoint on Interstate 8 east of Yuma this past weekend.
Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Bart Graves told KAWC that at about 4:40 p.m. Saturday, a motorist driving a Ford F-150 pickup truck was speeding towards the checkpoint and rear ended a stationary Chevrolet Cruze sedan that was waiting in line at the checkpoint.
Graves said the motorist in the F-150 then struck crash barriers, booths with agents in them and a Chevrolet Malibu sedan. The truck came to rest on the driver's side and one passenger was partially ejected, he said.
Five people were transported to Yuma Regional Medical Center and three others, including two Border Patrol Agents, were taken to Phoenix-area trauma centers for medical attention, Graves said. The two agents are currently listed in critical condition. The partially-ejected passenger from the F-150 is listed in serious condition with non-life threatening injuries.
Graves said the driver is not believed to have been impaired.
The investigation is ongoing.
In a post on X/Twitter on Sunday, officials with the Border Patrol Union/National Border Patrol Council said "Asking for your thoughts and prayers on behalf of two agents in critical condition after an event at a checkpoint on Interstate 8 between Wellton and Yuma, Arizona yesterday evening. We have a lot of brave agents who risk their lives every day trying to protect this nation."
The Yuma Police Department in a post on their Facebook page said "Our thoughts and prayers are with the two Border Patrol agents from the 1-8 Telegraph Pass checkpoint incident, their families, and the Yuma Sector Border Patrol."
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Stay tuned to KAWC for any further updates as they become available.
