California crash kills 13 of 25 people crammed into SUV

A California Highway Patrol officer examines the scene of a deadly crash in Holtville, California (Gregory Bull/AP)

Authorities are investigating whether human smuggling was involved after a crash involving an SUV packed with 25 people and a lorry left 13 people dead and bodies strewn across a roadway near the US-Mexico border.

Most of the dead were Mexicans, a Mexican official said.