The coordinator of a fatal smuggling event was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Jose Cruz Noguez was said to be the coordinator of the March 2, 2021 event that resulted in the death of 13 undocumented migrants when the SUV they were in collided with a tractor trailer near Holtville. According to the pleadings filed prior to the sentencing, Cruz Noguez was a coordinator of the smuggling attempt in which 2 SUV's were modified by removing the seats so that the undocumented migrants could be stacked  one on top of another. A total of 24 individuals were in the Ford Expedition when it collided with the big rig at Norrish Road and Highway 115. Thirteen of the passengers died. Cruz Noguez, 49, from Mexicali was sentenced Thursday before U. S. District Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo. A second suspect, Froylan Cortez Avelos, 49, of Mexicali, remains a fugitive.