4 Killed, 4 Injured When Van Blows Tire, Overturns

BARSTOW — A van reportedly heading for a wedding blew a tire on a desert highway and flipped over several times, killing three women and a 7-year-old boy, authorities said Sunday.

Four others in the 1985 Chevrolet van en route from Anaheim to Las Vegas were injured after the driver lost control and swerved off Interstate 15 on Saturday, said California Highway Patrol dispatcher Teri Howell.

Only the driver, a 51-year-old man who suffered some injuries, was wearing a seat belt. The rest were ejected as the van flipped over, Howell said. The injured, ranging in age from 7 to 55, were taken by helicopter to University Medical Center in Las Vegas, where one woman was in serious condition and a man and a 7-year-old boy were in fair condition, according to a nursing supervisor. The condition of the fourth victim was not immediately known.

The dead were identified as Remedios Peralta, 66; Felisa Soldivillo, 49; Nene Almeria, age unknown, and Nico Almeria, 7. All were from Anaheim, said San Bernardino County deputy coroner Monika Padilla.