Four die as collision sends car into canal

GEORGE – Two adults and two children died and one person was injured the morning of May 26 when a two-vehicle collision sent one car into a canal west of George.

County Coroner Craig Morrison released the names of the Stanwood family members who died on May 27 after next of kin were notified. They were?Dioselina Buenrostro, 33, Gabriel Ochoa 35, Yesenia “Jessie” Ochoa, 4, ?and Sandra Ochoa, 9. ?

Morrison’s staff will conduct autopsies and later release causes and manners of death.

?“In my 21 years in law enforcement, this is the most tragic, single incident I have ever been to,” Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones said. “My heart is filled with sorrow, and I pray for peace and comfort for the surviving family members.”

?Emergency responders were summoned to County Road 1 NW and Beverly-Burke Road NW at around 8 a.m. A full-size sport utility vehicle carrying the Stanwood family collided there with a compact hatchback vehicle driven by a woman, who was not identified as of May 27, according to Jones.

After the collision, the SUV struck a guardrail and continued a short distance before crashing into a full and flowing irrigation canal, Jones said. The SUV submerged and was taken about 100 yards downstream by the current.

Rescuers were able to remove all members of the family in the SUV, Jones said, but the man and woman died at the scene, and the two children died later at Quincy Valley Medical Center. ?

The driver of the hatchback suffered minor injuries and was taken by ambulance to Quincy Valley Medical Center, Jones said.??

The Grant County Sheriff’s Motor Traffic Unit was investigating the cause.