JAMESTOWN, N.D. (AP) — Two boys died when the SUV they were in crashed and ended up in a small pond along the side of a highway in North Dakota.
The driver and five other children were injured in the one-vehicle accident that happened just before 5 p.m. Monday on Interstate 94 near Jamestown.
The North Dakota Highway Patrol said in a news release that a woman driving a 1997 Chevrolet Suburban lost control after being passed by a semi. The vehicle left the roadway and overturned, coming to a rest on its side in the pond, patrol Sgt. Jon Skalicky said.
Two boys, ages 7 and 10, were pronounced dead at the scene. Skalicky said everyone else was able to get out of the water except the boys who died. A passerby helped get the kids to safety, Skalicky said.
A 9-year-old girl had life-threatening injuries and the 30-year-old driver had serious injuries, the patrol said. Girls ages 5, 6 and 9, and an 11-year-old boy, suffered minor injuries.
Skalicky said the driver was the aunt of the two boys who died. She was the mother of two of the other children, and the aunt of the others.
The patrol said the crash remains under investigation.