5 children ejected from minivan, killed in Maryland wreck

Maryland authorities say they’re investigating a crash that killed five children who were ejected from a minivan. Two adults were also injured.

Maryland State Police troopers say in a news release that the single-vehicle crash happened before 5 a.m. Saturday on northbound Route 301 in Prince George’s County.

The troopers identified the dead children as: 8-year-old London Dixon and 5-year-old Paris Dixon, both of Bowie; and 14-year-old Zion Beard; 6-year-old Rickelle Ricks; and 15-year-old Damari Herald, all of Washington, D.C.

Police identified the driver as 32-year-old Dominique Taylor, of Bowie. Twenty-three-year Cornell Simon of Oxon Hill is believed to have been a front-seat passenger. Both were injured.

The preliminary investigation shows the vehicle struck several trees and then spun in a snow-covered field.