``Our major goal now is to identify the bodies and notify their families,'' Sgt. Mike Van Berkum of the state patrol said. ``It's disheartening, because there will be a lot of families affected.''
Estela Biesemeyer, supervisory special agent with the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Des Moines, said the number of people in one vehicle, their apparent Hispanic origin and their eastward journey led investigators to suspect it could have been an immigrant smuggling operation.
``Smuggling through Iowa has always been here. Interstate 80 is a major route these people take from the border. They head up north and hook up to I-80,'' she said following Thursday's crash of the victims' pickup and a semitrailer truck 30 miles west of Des Moines.
The eastbound pickup crossed the median and hit the truck in the westbound lane around 2:30 a.m., the patrol said.
``All of the pickup was completely destroyed,'' Van Berkum said. ``I haven't seen one that bad in 18 years of doing this. It's a tragedy.''
The three women and six men were thrown from the pickup during the crash, Van Berkum said.
Ed Leahy of the Immigrant Rights Project in Omaha, Neb., said immigration reform is needed.
``I would advocate a more comprehensive immigration reform that would include those who are already here working and contributing to our economy,'' Leahy said. ``It's inhumane and unfortunate what happened, and I can assure you that I and the members of the Immigration Rights Network grieve for this loss.''
Menlo Fire Chief Ben Gilman said he was the first to arrive at the scene.
``It was a mess,'' he said. ``Everyone in the truck was dead. They probably died on impact.''
Van Berkum said there was no obvious reason why the pickup would have crossed the median. The roads weren't slippery and there were no signs of alcohol, he said.
The pickup, a green 1996 Chevy Silverado with an expanded cab, had Colorado license plates.
Biesemeyer said the INS had been provided a Colorado driver's license for one of the people in the pickup and would be working to identify the nationalities of the victims.
``We'll probably contact the foreign consulates of Mexico or El Salvador and make the proper contacts to assist us in identifying these people further and make the notification of the families,'' she said.
A laminated document found in the wreckage of the truck carried a Hispanic name and a location _ San Salvador El Seco, a town in Mexico.
The driver of the semi, William Dean Hansen, 55, was taken to a hospital in Greenfield with minor injuries, the patrol said. The semi was owned by Midstates Express, based in Aurora, Ill.
