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(Photo/DPS)
EMERY COUNTY -- A Colorado mother was critically injured and her baby daughter killed in a rollover on Interstate 70 near Green River Saturday.
According to the Utah Highway Patrol, 33-year-old Rubicelia Santacruz-Alvarado was holding her daughter, 23-month-old Samantha Bermudez, on her lap when the van they were riding in lost control and smashed into the median. Neither was wearing seat belts and both were thrown from the vehicle on impact.
Troopers say the little girl died at the scene. Her mother was taken to St. Mary's hospital in Colorado with critical back and neck injuries.
The baby's uncle, 37-year-old Alberto Santacruz of Goleta, Calif., was driving at the time. Police believe he lost control when the right rear tire's tread shredded.
Santacruz and the baby's 6-year-old brother, Larry Bermudez, were both wearing seat belts and suffered just minor injuries. Both were taken to Green River Medical Clinic for treatment.
The group was headed from Colorado to California at the time of the crash.
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