Wrecked vehicles are strewn about the westbound lanes of Interstate 10 near Houghton Road as investigators begin working in the aftermath of a minivan rollover that led to collisions involving five other vehicles.

James S. Wood / Arizona Daily Star

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A minivan packed with illegal immigrants rolled Thursday on Interstate 10, causing a series of collisions. The accidents injured at least 18 people, five of whom remain hospitalized in critical condition.

The chain of wrecks on Tucson's Southeast Side began at about 11:30 a.m. near Houghton Road and closed the westbound lanes of I-10 for more than three hours. Three people were taken by helicopter to Tucson hospitals. About 50 firefighters and paramedics were dispatched to treat the injured.

Department of Public Safety officers began an investigation that could take as long as two weeks, authorities said.

The driver of the minivan lost control when a tire blew out, said DPS Officer Carmen Figueroa, and several people were seen running from the vehicle just after it rolled. The Mexican Consulate in Tucson confirmed the van was traveling with 14 illegal immigrants from Mexico, with at least 11 injured.

The rollover was followed by collisions involving five other vehicles and injuring at least five other people, Figueroa said.

A vehicle driven by Clyde Nakasone, 46, was the first to be hit in the series of collisions, he said. Someone clipped the rear passenger side of his car.

"I looked up into the rear- view mirror and saw a van flipping over behind me," he said.

The Tucson Fire Department established a field triage system that identified nine patients as the most seriously injured, said fire Capt. Norm Carlton.

Three of those patients were transported by helicopter, and the other six were taken by ambulance. Three other patients were also taken to hospitals with unspecified injuries. Four others received minor injuries.

In addition to those 16, two men who fled from the minivan were found injured in the desert, said DPS Officer Quent Mehr.

Alejandro Ramos Cardoso, spokesman for the Mexican Consulate in Tucson, said the van was carrying men from the Mexican states of Hidalgo and Puebla. The injured in the van were taken to University Medical Center, Tucson Medical Center, University Physicians Healthcare Hospital at Kino Campus, and St. Mary's and St. Joseph's hospitals, he said.

Two men from the van were in critical condition at UMC, he said. At least three were treated and released with scratches and bruises, Ramos said.

The consulate has been told the driver of the minivan lost control, causing the vehicle to roll.

UMC spokeswoman Katie Riley said the hospital has five adult patients in critical condition from the I-10 collisions.

TMC had three patients from the collisions who were treated and released, said hospital spokesman Mike Letson.

The conditions of others hurt in the crashes were unknown.

Thursday's accident was the first major accident in the region involving illegal immigrants since late April.

That month, seven illegal immigrants were killed, and several others were critically injured in Southeastern Arizona crashes — making it the deadliest month for such crashes in nearly four years.

Wrecks and rollovers of overloaded trucks and vans driven by smugglers are nothing new:

At least 74 people died during 2002-2004, data from the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center and county medical examiners show. That number decreased to 37 from 2005 to 2007. None were recorded from Sept. 9, 2007, through March.