Man, woman die, three children hurt in I-15 crash near Nevada-California state line

A flat tire might be the cause of a crash in which a man and woman died and three children were seriously injured near the Nevada-California state line Friday afternoon, Nevada Highway Patrol officials said.

Authorities did not release the identities of the two people killed.

Trooper Joseph Fackrell said the man and woman most likely were husband and wife. Three children, believed to be the couple's, were injured. The woman was driving at the time of the crash.

Fackrell said as of 8:45 p.m., a 9-year-old girl and 5-year-old boy were in critical condition at the University Medical Center. A 2-year-old girl was being held overnight for observation.

Fackrell said the collision occurred about 4 p.m. when a pickup traveling south on Interstate 15 near mile marker four went onto the right shoulder and struck a paving machine that was unoccupied.

The three children were in the backseat of the pickup.

Fackrell said it is believed that the pickup sustained a flat tire before colliding with the paving machine.