South Bay : 4 Killed on Way to Wedding

Four members of a South Bay family, en route to a wedding in Idaho, were killed near Scipio, Utah, when their van struck a highway barrier, vaulted over a tunnel overpass and burst into flames when it hit an embankment. Two other family members were injured, one of them seriously.

Willard and Pearl Snow, both 66 and longtime Rancho Palos Verdes residents, died along with their grandchildren, Amber and Brian McLaughlin, 12 and 9, of Torrance.

The children’s mother, Marjorie McLaughlin, 43, and their cousin, Ben Huff, 17, were injured. Huff lives in Saudi Arabia with his parents, but was staying with the family, according to relatives.

McLaughlin was reported in serious condition and Huff in fair condition Wednesday at Utah Valley Hospital in Provo. Their injuries were not disclosed.

The Utah Highway Patrol said the cause of the Saturday afternoon accident is not known, but that Snow may have had a heart attack.

The family was driving to Boise, Ida., for the wedding of the Snows’ youngest son. The wedding will go on today as scheduled, said Chad Turner, bishop of the Palos Verdes ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where the Snows were active. The church will hold a memorial service for the family, but it has not been scheduled yet, Turner said.