5 killed in vehicle accident in North Carolina national forest

5 killed in vehicle accident in North Carolina national forest

2011-04-18 21:21:06 GMT+7 (ICT)

CROATAN NATIONAL FOREST, NORTH CAROLINA (BNO NEWS) -- Five people were killed after a vehicle overturned and sank in a canal on Sunday evening in a national forest in the eastern part of North Carolina, officials said Monday.

Highway Patrol Trooper R.A. Woods told WTVD that the incident occurred on Sunday evening between 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. local time, when a sports utility vehicle (SUV) in the Croatan National Forest, which is located north of Camp Lejeune near North Carolina's Atlantic Coast, overturned into a canal.

The bodies of an adult male and female were found, as well as two infants and an adolescent boy. The two infants, a boy and a girl, were discovered still strapped in their child seats after the vehicle was pulled out of the mud. The woman was also found still wearing her seatbelt.

Officials said the vehicle was found upside down and almost completely submerged in the canal. Woods said that the man was possibly trying to get the woman and children out the vehicle as they were still wearing their seatbelts.

Speeding could have been a factor as officials noted tire marks on the gravel road, and drowning appeared to be the cause of death.

The names of the fatal victims have not been released, and the relation between them has still been unconfirmed. No further information was available.

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