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Alleged Drunk Driver Rear-Ends Van, Killing A Family of Five
Five members of a Southern California family were killed when an allegedly drunk man in an SUV rear-ended them in Nevada.The driver of the SUV Jean Soriano, 18, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to the Associated Press. The crash happened around 3 am near the border of Utah on Interstate 15. Soriano's SUV rear-ended a van carrying a family from Southern California, causing both vehicles to spin out of control and roll.
Three men in their 40s, a teenage girl and a woman were killed in the van carrying a couple, their children, aunts and uncles. A 40-year-old female driver and a 15-year-old boy were rushed to the hospital and are in critical condition. A 23-year-old passenger in Soriano's SUV was hospitalized and later released.
Five people in the van were not wearing their seatbelts and were ejected. Only one of the ejected survived. Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Loy Hixson said, "Unfortunately, so many in the van weren't wearing seatbelts, and some might have survived had they been wearing them."
Beer bottles were found inside the SUV, and state troopers performed a blood-alcohol test on Soriano at the hospital. They believe Soriano was driving home to California after visiting family in Utah.
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