3 young children die in DeWitt collision

A collision between a sport utility vehicle and a flatbed truck left three young children dead Monday morning in Clinton County.

The Clinton County Sheriff's Office said in a news release that the crash happened about 9:18 a.m. in the 3700 block of U.S. Highway 30 in DeWitt. When deputies arrived, they found the Jeep SUV in a ditch with rear-end damage. The Dodge flatbed, which was towing a trailer, was on the shoulder and had front-end damage.

There were six occupants in the SUV — four of them children, the sheriff's office said. Authorities said two of those children died at the scene. A third was pronounced dead after arriving at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City.

All three children who died were under 5 years old. None were in seat restraints, the Iowa State Patrol said.

The names of the three children were not yet being released.

Authorities also sent the other occupants of the SUV to hospitals for treatment, the sheriff's office said. The statement did not indicate the severity of their injuries. The SUV was being driven by Sunika Carter, 38, of Clinton, the patrol said.

The only occupant of the truck — identified by the patrol as Stephen Point, 70, of Camanche — was sent to a hospital. The sheriff’s office release did not describe the severity of his injuries.

Investigators think the SUV had stopped or broken down in the travel lanes of eastbound Highway 30, the release states. The truck, eastbound, apparently hit it from behind.

Emily Andersen of The Gazette contributed to this report.