Two Children Killed at Campground | Video

Jenny Castro | 7/9/2012

Two children were killed this weekend on a campground at Lake Metigoshe. Shortly after 1:00 Sunday morning, a vehicle drove over a tent and then hit a tree at Hahn`s Bay Campground.

The vehicle killed Alaries Ruiz, 5, and Cyris Ruiz, 9, who were in the tent. The boys` father, Juan Ruiz, 28, of El Paso, Texas was also injured and was flown to Minot with serious injuries. The Highway Patrol says the 30-year-old driver from Newburg lost control of his truck while making a turn on the campground, before running over the tent and hitting the tree.

Authorities say that the boys were visiting their father who works in Newburg. Several people were in the vehicle that crashed and alcohol was involved in the accident.

"It`s going to affect this family forever and it`s also going to affect the driver of the pickup as well, plus the occupants who wore were part of it are going to have to deal with that mentally, so it`s a serious business. It`s a tragedy but it`s something that is preventable and people really need to take heed and think about that before they make the decision to drive a vehicle maybe at an improper speed or if they`ve been consuming alcohol,” said Cpt. Gary Orluck with the North Dakota State Patrol.

Anthony Tabarez, 9, was a friend also staying in the tent and suffered minor injuries. Tabarez and the boys` father, Juan Ruiz, do not have life threatening injuries. The driver of the vehicle was acquaintances with the campers.

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