El CENTRO, Calif. (AP) — A semitruck on Tuesday crashed into an SUV believed to be carrying 27 people on a Southern California highway, killing 15 people and leaving others injured, hospital officials said.

Judy Cruz, director of El Centro Regional Medical Center's emergency department, said 14 people died at the scene, which is about 11 miles (18 kilometers) north of the U.S.-Mexico border, and another died after arriving at the hospital.

Hospital officials believe 27 people were in an SUV that collided with a tractor-trailer full of gravel on a highway in the agricultural southeastern corner...