Five People, Including Four Children Ages Two to 14, Killed, Seven in Critical Condition, in Louisiana Interstate Accident

This has been a weekend marred with so much tragedy. State police said four children ages two to 14 were among five people killed when a minivan packed with children rolled on a Louisiana interstate, and seven others remained in critical condition. Police identified the dead as the driver,Mona Hines, 38; Ricky Hines Jr., 2; Lachante Floyd, 12; Edward Barnes, 14 and Ashley Hines, 14. The van blew a tire, clipped a delivery truck and rolled on Interstate 10 near Baton Rouge. All 13 children were thrown from the vehicle. Two adults were wearing seatbelts but not of the children were.

HEATHER MCCLELLAND/The Advocate

Louisiana State Police said two other children and the GMC Safari's adult passenger were in stable condition. The surviving children ranged from less than a year old to 14. Alcohol was not suspected as a factor in the crash. The police said seven people remain in critical condition.

The Louisiana Legislature recently passed a law making it mandatory to wear seatbelts in both the front and back seats. This tragedy is a good illustration of why they did this, though the van reportedly did not have enough seatbelts  for the 15 passengers. It is obvious that the vehicle was over capacity.