13 dead in SoCal crash of big rig, SUV with 25 inside

IMPERIAL COUNTY, California -- At least 13 people have died from a crash between a big rig and an SUV in Southern California on Tuesday, according to the California Highway Patrol.

A Ford Expedition SUV entered the intersection with the big rig and subsequently the big rig, which was hauling two trailers, collided with the left side of the SUV, the highway patrol said.

Twenty-five people were in the Ford Expedition, CHP said.

Many of the passengers were ejected onto the road, the highway patrol indicated, adding that there were not enough seatbelts for 25 people.

California Highway Patrol Chief Omar Watson told ABC News that it's "unfathomable" that 25 people were inside this one vehicle.

Twelve people, including the SUV driver, died at the scene, the highway patrol said, while another person from the vehicle died at a hospital.

Those who died ranged in age from 20 to 55, officials said.

The SUV driver was a 28-year-old man from Mexicali, Mexico, near the California border, Watson said.

The highway patrol said the cause of the crash is not clear, adding that no law enforcement was involved in the incident.

There was no chase leading up to the crash, Watson said.

The only person in the big rig was the driver, a 69-year-old man from California, who sustained moderate injuries, the highway patrol said. Watson said he is in "bad shape" and has only given a partial statement to investigators so far.

Multiple survivors were taken to area hospitals, hospital officials said, with those injured ranging in age from 16 to 55.

Some patients suffered life-threatening head injuries, chest injuries and fractures, officials at El Centro Regional Medical Center said.

The crash was near Holtville in Imperial County, which is about 125 miles east of San Diego and about 10 miles from the Mexico border.