GILA BEND, Ariz. (AP) — Authorities said Thursday that two Border Patrol agents were rushing to help other agents pursuing a group of suspected illegal immigrants when they crossed a marked railroad crossing and their SUV was struck by the freight train.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio confirmed that the agents were killed in the Thursday crash. The FBI will be taking over the investigation, he said.
The wreck happened near Gila Bend, about 85 miles southwest of Phoenix. Television video from the scene shows a freight train with a mangled SUV in front of the train’s engine.
Border Patrol Agent Kenneth Quillin, spokesman for the Yuma, Ariz., sector, said the two agents were trying to position themselves on a road north of the other agents when the crash occurred. He said that the suspected illegal immigrants were on foot and that none of them have been arrested.
The agents’ names are being withheld pending notification of family.
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