35 Illegal Aliens Seized After Hit-Run Accident

Thirty-five illegal immigrants, including four women and a child, were taken into custody by U.S. immigration authorities Tuesday morning after the stolen truck they were crammed into was involved in an hit-and-run accident in Bell.

The driver of the truck and another man, who were not immediately identified but were believed to be alien smugglers, were arrested after the vehicle went out of control during a police chase and overturned at Bell Avenue and Bissell Street, officers said.

Several aliens hiding in the rear of the bobtail truck suffered minor injuries. A spokeswoman for the Immigration and Naturalization Service said some of them were being interrogated as possible witnesses to the alleged crimes of leaving the scene of an accident and grand theft auto. The rest were to be deported.

The chase began when a motorist flagged down a Bell police officer at 8:35 a.m. and told him a truck had hit his car.