Mexicali man charged in connection with crash that killed 13 people in Imperial County

A Mexicali man was charged in federal court with organizing the smuggling event that led to a crash between an SUV and a semi-truck that killed 13 people near Holtville, California on March 2, 2021.

The SUV was carrying 25 people at the time of the crash. Some, including the driver of the semi-truck, were airlifted to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs.

The collision was linked to a cutaway at the border about 30 minutes away from the site of the crash.

Jose Cruz Noguez, 47, of Mexicali, Mexico was arrested Monday night crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in Calexico, officials said.

According to the criminal complaint, Cruz came to the attention of law enforcement when he was identified by another suspected smuggler who claimed to be an associate of Cruz. The associate was arrested for an unrelated smuggling event on March 15, two weeks after the fatal crash.

Read: Guatemala woman, 23, is among 13 killed in California crash

The associate pointed the finger at Cruz, telling authorities he had worked for Cruz in the past, and had been recruited by Cruz to be the driver of the SUV that would be involved in the crash. The associate claimed that Cruz had offered him $1,000 per passenger, but he declined, the complaint said.

The associate also told authorities there were 60 "Pollos" – his term for customers – in the two vehicles and the driver was going to make $28,000. There were two SUVs that breached the cutaway at the border on March 2.

The second SUV was found on fire a little over an hour before the mass casualty crash. This second SUV was carrying 19 people.

Cruz is a legal permanent resident of the United States who has spent time in San Jose, California. He made his first appearance in federal court in El Centro on Tuesday, where he was charged with:

• Conspiracy to Bring Aliens to the United States Outside a Port of Entry Causing Serious Bodily Injury/Placing a Life in Jeopardy
  (Max penalty of 20 in prison)
• Bringing in Aliens Without Presentation for Financial Gain
  (Max Penalty: For a first or second violation, not less than three years or more than 10 years in custody; for a third violation, not less than five years or more than 15 years of custody)

U.S. Magistrate Judge Ruth Bermudez Montenegro ordered Cruz to remain in custody and scheduled a detention hearing on April 5.

"These smuggling networks seek maximum profit by moving as many people as possible across the border with zero regard for their safety and well-being," said Acting U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. "Cramming dozens of people into eight-passenger vehicles and driving recklessly to avoid detection shows an utter disregard for human life. We will find and prosecute smugglers who use these methods and cause such tragic and avoidable deaths."

Grossman commended Assistant U. S. Attorneys Timothy Coughlin, Victor White, Shauna Prewitt, Patrick Swan and Blair Perez and agents from Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Border Patrol, El Centro Sector Intelligence Unit, for their excellent work on this case.

Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing updates on this case.