SAN DIEGO -- Mexican consular officials who showed up at the scene of a fatal crash involving illegal immigrants last week insist they were there to help their countrymen and not spirit away a suspect or interfere with the investigation.

The men sent to the scene of the crash were representing the Mexican government and did nothing to interfere with U.S. officials, according to Carlos Lozano, a spokesman for the consulate in San Diego.

U.S. Border Patrol agents described six "shady characters" they said showed up at the scene of last Thursday's crash on Interstate 8, possibly trying to sprit away a smuggler.

The agency said it had received information that led it to believe that several Mexican consular representatives had misidentified themselves as U.S. immigration officials. They arrived at a hospital where many of the 13 injured were taken.

The six then purportedly tried to gain the release of at least one of the alleged smugglers' accomplices, Border Patrol spokesman Raleigh Leonard told the Los Angeles Times.

He said the investigation into any role played by Mexican consular in the incident had been handed over to the FBI.

Agent Jan Caldwell, FBI spokeswoman in San Diego, said the bureau would investigate and turn over its findings to the U.S. attorney's office.

"I don't know what there is to investigate," Lozano told The Times. "We've informed both the FBI and the Border Patrol that we were at the scene and at the hospital. We were meeting our responsibility to Mexican citizens, who are victims of an unpleasant situation like this."

Last Thursday, a 22-mile Border Patrol pursuit ended when a pickup truck, carrying at least a dozen illegal immigrants, crashed through a guardrail on westbound Interstate 8 and plowed into a bridge abutment over state Route 79.

Two women were killed in the crash and a 2-year-old boy suffered a broken clavicle.

Border Patrol agents began chasing the truck after it allegedly sped off from the Tecate, Mexico, border crossing, according to the INS.

During the pursuit, the driver nearly hit agents attempting to lay down spike strips.

There were two attempts to stop the truck using the spike strips, one failed, the other punctured one of the vehicle's tires.

The driver of the pickup continued on at 80 mph until he swerved and crashed, sending people riding the pickup's bed tumbling down an embankment.

Carlos Moreno, 20, believed to be from Jalisco, Mexico, was charged with two counts of murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and single counts of child endangerment and witness intimidation. He pleaded not guilty in San Diego County Superior Court Tuesday.

A second smuggling suspect is in custody awaiting charges, according to a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office. That suspect has not been identified.

The Border Patrol announced last week that it would investigate whether the chase was proper.