Police: All children in Denton crash weren’t secured

All the children involved in a four-car crash that killed two in Denton Saturday were not secured in the vehicle, police said Monday.

Two children died and a third was critically injured in the wreck, which shut down a highway for several hours, police said.

“It appears all three children were not properly secured with a safety belt or approved child safety seat,” Denton police spokesman Shane Kizer said in a statement Monday.

The accident occurred about 6:30 p.m. at the intersection of U.S. 380 and North Mayhill Road. An 11-year-old girl was taken by helicopter to Denton Regional Medical Center, where she later was pronounced dead, police said. Police had originally reported a 12-year-old boy had died.

The girl was identified Sunday as Leslie De Luna of Whitesboro, according to the Tarrant County medical examiner.

Another helicopter carried the other two youngsters, boys ages 8 and 4, to Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, where the 8-year-old died. The 4-year-old remains in critical condition, Kizer said.

The 8-year-old and 4-year-old had not been identified.

Kizer said the accident took place when a Nissan minivan in the westbound left lane of U.S. 380 was stopped at a red light at the intersection of Mayhill Road. A Dodge Dakota was in the center lane behind a Kia, both stopped for the red light.

A Ford F-350 truck traveling at a “high rate of speed” ran into the back of the minivan, pushing it into the Dodge Dakota, which then hit the Kia, according to a statement from Kizer. The occupants of the Dodge and the Kia were not injured.

The two boys were sitting in the middle row seat of the minivan. The girl was in the third row seat and an adult woman was driving.

The driver of the minivan and the driver of the F-350 were both treated for minor injuries at Denton Regional Medical Center and released, according to a statement from Kizer. An adult male in the front passenger seat of the minivan suffered minor injuries. He was also treated at Denton Regional Medical Center and released.

U.S. 380, also called East University Drive through Denton, was shut down between North Loop 288 and Geesling Road for several hours.

Kizer said the crossing is a problem intersection.

“We had a lot of fatality accidents there years ago before we had a light there,” Kizer said. “It helped, but if someone [on the highway] runs that light, they can be really going fast.”

Star-Telegram reporter Christian Boschult contributed to this report.

This story was originally published February 7, 2016 at 1:20 AM with the headline "Police: All children in Denton crash weren’t secured."