Tragedy Strikes Family of 9 Traveling in California

3 were killed, 6 others injured in highway collision
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted May 15, 2023 2:00 AM CDT
3 Members of California Family Killed, 6 More Injured in Collision
Stock photo   (Getty Images / mirror-images)

A Chevy Suburban carrying nine members of a southern California family collided with a Tesla sedan Sunday near Palm Springs, killing three members of the family and injuring the other six, four of them seriously. The occupants of the SUV included parents, their children, and some cousins, all from Anaheim, the Press-Enterprise reports. A 31-year-old woman and two girls, ages 10 and 12, were killed. A boy, 15, and three girls, ages 3, 7, and 11, suffered major injuries. The driver, 39, and front-seat passenger, 41, suffered moderate to minor injuries, KTLA reports. The Suburban only had eight seatbelts, and the middle row, which only had three seatbelts, held four passengers, authorities said.

"Preliminary information indicates not all occupants in the Chevrolet Suburban were using safety restraint systems or seatbelts," says a California Highway Patrol spokesperson; it's also not clear whether child safety seats were being used. The SUV was in the No. 2 lane of the eastbound 10 freeway at 7:24am when the collision occurred and the Tesla was in the No. 3 lane; it's not clear what happened, but the Suburban driver lost control and crashed into the center divider. The vehicle overturned, and six occupants were ejected and one was partially ejected. The Tesla driver, a 31-year-old male from Indio, was not injured. It's not clear whether the Model 3's self-driving features were activated at the time.

(More California stories.)

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