Crash driver suspected of human smuggling

PHOENIX, July 16 (UPI) -- A man suspected of being the driver of a vehicle that flipped over on an Arizona highway, injuring six passengers, has been charged with people smuggling.

Geraldo Morales-Morales, 29, was arrested Wednesday night at a pay phone about a mile from the highway where the crash occurred, KNXV-TV in Phoenix reported.

Morales-Morales was allegedly at the wheel of a Dodge Durango going south on Interstate 17 about 35 miles south of Phoenix when the driver lost control of the vehicle at about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, KPHO-TV, Phoenix, said. The vehicle rolled over and landed upside down in the median, ejecting six passengers.

The passengers were critically injured, police said.

Sgt. Tim Mason of the Arizona Department of Public Safety said the driver left the vehicle and ran into the desert immediately after the crash. Police with dogs searched the area for him.

Some of the passengers, when questioned by police, allegedly said they had paid to be transported to "destination cities," Mason said. He said investigators were trying to determine their immigration status.