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2 children die in car accident, mother may be distracted by siblings: DPS
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2 children die in car accident, mother may be distracted by siblings: DPS

An argument between siblings during a car ride led to a fatal accident.

According to the local news station KFVSon Wednesday, October 23, the crash involving a mother and her three children occurred on Loop 202 in Mesa, Arizona. Their truck hit a tow truck at high speed on the outside lane of the freeway, causing the westbound lanes to close. down for a few hours, according Arizona Department of Transportation.

Bart Graves, public information officer for the Arizona Department of Public Safety, told KFVS that the mother “may have been distracted by what was happening in the vehicle at the time of the accident.”

“From what I understand, it was the kids playing loudly, taking over the back seat or some sort of thing that distracted her from the road,” he said.

The impact of the crash “tore off the right side of the pickup, killing a 9-year-old male and an 11-year-old female,” according to a statement from DPS, according to the local Fox affiliate. KSAZ-TV.

Tate, 9, and Evie, 11, died in the car crash. Their younger brother was unharmed in the accident, but the children’s mother, aged 36, was hospitalized, KFVS reports.

People reached out to the Arizona Department of Public Safety and did not immediately hear back.

Jesse Torrez, director of the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, explained via the ABC affiliate KNXV-TV that even the slightest glance off the road could send drivers off-track.

“Even if you’re looking straight ahead, but your peripherals are going to the right, you tend (to) start veering left or right. This poor woman just happened to move to the right,” he said.

“And if he had moved even two seconds after he did, he probably would have missed the tow truck,” Torrez said.

Loop 202 courtesy of the Arizona Department of Transportation.

ArizonaDOT/X


Graves also stressed the importance of not being distracted while driving.

“Slow down, be careful. Don’t get distracted by things in the car if you have kids,” Graves said, according to KFVS. “Stay away from the phone. In any case, do not drive while impaired or tired.”

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It remains unclear whether or not the mother will face charges in the crash, according to KNXV.

A GoFundMe was created for Tate and Evie. “The parents and their siblings not only have to face life without two of their children, but also a pile of medical and funeral bills just a few years after one of their children went through a long course of cancer treatment” , the fundraiser’s description says.

As of Friday, October 25, it has raised over $145,000.

PEOPLE has reached out to the GoFundMe organizer for comment.