NEW ORLEANS — A minivan packed with children blew a tire, clipped a delivery truck and rolled on a Louisiana interstate Saturday, killing five people and critically injuring another 10, state police said.
Thirteen children who were riding without seat belts were thrown from the van, including four of the dead who were found in the median of Interstate 10 near Baton Rouge, Louisiana State Police said.
The van didn’t have enough seat belts for the 13, said Louisiana State Police spokesman Russell Graham. The driver, who was killed, and a front-seat passenger appeared to have been the only ones wearing seat belts.
“The Louisiana Legislature just passed a law making it mandatory to wear seat belts in both the front and back seats,” Graham said. “This is . . . why they did.”
The survivors were in critical condition Saturday afternoon, he said.
