WELLSBURG, Iowa — Four people are dead and nine are injured following a crash on U.S. Highway 20 in Grundy County Friday morning, according to the Iowa State Patrol and Grundy County Sheriff's Office.
Iowa State Patrol identified the victims as 1-year-old Marlin Borntreger, 2-year-old Rebecca Borntreger, 4-year-old Emma Borntreger and 22-year-old Ervin J. Borntreger.
All passengers were from Delhi, Iowa.
Sgt. Alex Dinkla says the 15-passenger van was driving west on Highway 20 near the Wellsburg exit shortly before 7 a.m. Friday when the driver lost control of the van due to the slick roads.
"The roads were about 50 - 75% snow covered and we had light flurries at the time of the accident and it was still dark," said Grundy County Sheriff Kirk Dolleslager.
The van entered the median and rolled over several times, coming to rest in the eastbound lane.
"In 30 years of law enforcement this is the first accident I've had with multiple children as fatalities," Dolleslager said. "You had probably 50 EMS, firemen, law enforcement agencies out there, so it's a tough day for everyone involved."
Dinkla said he didn't have an update on the conditions of the nine people who were injured as of Sunday. They were taken to hospitals in Grundy County and Waterloo.
None of the occupants of the van were using seatbelts or child car seats.
"Obviously, seatbelts were a big factor here," Dolleslager said. "People were thrown from the vehicle, so we think had seatbelts [been] used, it would have definitely saved lives here."
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