Truck Crash Death Toll Lowered

PHOENIX – Authorities on Monday lowered to five the death toll from a weekend crash of a stolen pickup truck crammed with undocumented immigrants.

Authorities initially reported six deaths in the crash Saturday that caused an 11-car pileup, but one victim who apparently went into cardiac arrest (search) while being transported to a hospital was resuscitated, said Sgt. Brian Preston of the state public safety department.

Investigators haven't identified the driver of the stolen pickup, Preston said.

The accident near the Army's Fort Huachuca (search) occurred when the truck carrying 17 immigrants tried to evade Cochise County sheriff's deputies. The truck was traveling about 90 mph when it approached a busy intersection and lost control, striking a number of vehicles.

Two of the dead were in other vehicles and three were immigrants in the truck, which authorities think was headed to Phoenix (search), a hub for transporting illegal immigrants throughout the United States.