28 people were in truck that crashed today west of Tucson; third person in Wednesday's I-10 crash dies from injuries.

JENNY HUNSPERGER and DAVID L. TEIBEL

Eight suspected illegal immigrants were injured when a pickup carrying 28 people crashed in the desert before dawn today, a Pima County sheriff's spokeswoman said.
The wreck follows a pickup crash Wednesday on Interstate 10 near Benson in which a pickup carrying 20 suspected migrants crashed, killing three people.

In this morning's wreck Deputy James Lukosky spotted the pickup when its driver ran a stop sign on West Old Ajo Highway where it intersects West Ajo Highway near Ryan Airfield, said Deputy Dawn Barkman.

The 2003 Ford F350 extended-cab pickup was reported stolen in Phoenix Wednesday. When Lukosky tried to stop the truck, Barkman said, the driver sped away, but drove off the road and crashed into an embankment.

Five people found injured at the crash site were taken to area hospitals. Border Patrol agents found 15 more people in the desert, three of whom were taken to hospitals and the remaining 12 were taken into custody by Border Patrol agents, Barkman said. The other eight had not been found by 7 a.m.

Barkman said none of the people sustained life threatening injuries. The pickup's driver has not been identified, she added.

Meanwhile, the I-10 crash Wednesday claimed the life of a third person, who died of injuries.

The unidentified person died Wednesday at University Medical Center, said Arizona Department of Public Safety Officer Steven Volden.

Authorities are working on identifying everyone in the crash, which occurred at 7:30 a.m. when the right-front tire on the extended-cab pickup blew on I-10 about three miles west of Benson, the DPS reported.

All 20 passengers were thrown from the open-bed truck. DPS initially believed 21 people were in the vehicle, Volden said.

The Salvadoran Consulate in Las Vegas identified one of the two people who died at the scene as Salvadoran Arnelio Serrano Portillo, 39.

At least seven people in the crash remain hospitalized. Their conditions were not being released.

Eight Mexican nationals who were not injured in the crash have been returned to Mexico, said Dulce Rojo Mascareno, spokeswoman for the Mexican Consulate in Tucson.

All the others in the truck were from El Salvador, she said.