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East Rim head-on collision kills 2

A head-on collision involving a tractor-trailer and a recreational vehicle killed two people and sent two others to Flagstaff Medical Center Sunday morning.

The accident occurred at 8:15 a.m. Sunday on State Route 64 near the Tusayan Museum on a portion of curved road, said Margee Hench, communications specialist for Grand Canyon National Park.

A white 1988 Peterbilt tractor-trailer with Utah plates carrying ice was heading west on SR64, known as East Rim Drive in the park. The truck, owned by Page Ice Co., and driven by Wayne Parrish, 36, of Page, overturned and collided with an eastbound RV from Cape Coral, Fla.

Parrish and a passenger, Shane Brown, 17, of Page, were not injured. Parrish was wearing a seatbelt.

The RV, which was towing a red vehicle, was driven by Daniel Lapointe, 48, of Cape Coral, who died at the scene from his injuries. A passenger, Donna Lapointe, 38, also died at the scene.

Two other passengers. Donald Holmes, 60, and Carol Holmes, 59, both of Cape Coral, were transported to Flagstaff Medical Center. One passenger in the RV had to be extracated in what Hench said turned out to be a complicated process for emergency workers.

It’s not known who was wearing seatbelts in the RV.

East Rim Drive was closed for most of the day while the Department of Public Safety investigated the accident scene.

Park rangers guarded the west entrance to East Rim Drive Sunday to inform motorists of the closure.

The accident remains under DPS investigation.


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