Mother, children killed in collision

Two children and their pregnant mother were killed, and another child and their father were in extremely critical condition after their car was hit by an SUV Friday night. A teenage driver who fled the scene was later caught by police and arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Salt Lake police said the family was traveling home from a high school basketball game when the crash happened.

A witness told KSL-TV that they knew the family and that the father was the bishop of a local ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Authorities believe the family was traveling through the Sugar House area when their vehicle collided with the SUV just before 10 p.m. near 2700 South and 2000 East, underneath the I-80 overpass.

"The car was on it's roof when we arrived," Salt Lake City Fire Assistant Battalion Chief Dennis McKone said. "We still don't know what happened, and there wasn't much we could do."

He said a male juvenile was seen running away from the accident and was found sitting on a curb five blocks away and was arrested. Police said alcohol was found in his car. His identity was not released.

McKone said the woman and two of the three children in the vehicle were pronounced dead at the scene and the man and another child were flown to area hospitals. The extent of their injuries is unknown.

"It's ugly," McKone said. "Anytime there's kids involved, it's ugly."

Identities of those involved were not released Friday, as police tried to locate and notify family members.

Friday's accident was eerily reminiscent of a crash that killed three members of the Ceran family traveling home from the theater early on the morning of Dec. 24.

Similarly, in that accident, 47-year-old Cheryl L. Ceran, her 15-year-old son, Ian, and 7-year-old daughter Julianna were killed when a drunken driver ran a red light at the intersection of 5400 South and 700 West in Murray.

Carlos Rodolfo Prieto, 24, was charged in 3rd District Court with three counts of automobile homicide after prosecutors said he had been drinking prior to the crash. Court documents state he told police he had consumed five beers. He remains jailed on $500,000 bail.

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E-mail: wleonard@desnews.com