All six tourists killed in fiery Yellowstone crash named by police
Six tourists from China, Italy and California were killed when a pickup truck collided with their van near Yellowstone National Park
All six Chinese and Italian tourists who were killed when a pickup truck collided with their van in a fiery crash earlier this month have been named.
Seven people - including the pickup truck driver - were killed in the crash on a highway near Henry’s Lake State Park in eastern Idaho as the tour group headed to Yellowstone National Park.
In a statement on Friday, Idaho State Police said Jian Shi, 56, of Shanghai and Xiaoming Jiang, 66, of Guilin, China, died from the May 1 crash along with Ivana Wen, 28, of Milan.
Two of the deceased travelers were California residents: Li Nie, 64, and Aifeng Wan, 53, both of Arcadia. The van's 30-year-old driver Yu Zhang, of Eastvale, California, was also killed.
There were 14 people in the van, of the 13 passengers, 12 had Chinese nationality and one was Italian, police said. Survivors were taken to nearby hospitals with injuries.
The truck's driver also died. Authorities earlier identified him as Isaih Moreno of Humble, Texas.
Investigators determined that the Dodge Ram driven by Moreno crossed the center line and collided with the Mercedes van driven by Zhang. Police said they were continuing to investigate why the truck crossed the center line.
The highway where the crash happened south of West Yellowstone, Montana, offers a way to get between Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons in the spring before a north-south route is plowed and the park fully opens for summer.
Yellowstone is one of the largest national parks in the U.S. and draws millions of visitors each year. It is home to the iconic geyser Old Faithful and has wolves, bison and more than 50 other mammal species. It's primarily located in Wyoming but it also extends in parts of Montana and Idaho.
Seventeen percent of Yellowstone’s visitors came from other countries in 2016, according to a park visitor use study with the most recent comprehensive data available. Of international visitors, 34 percent came from China and 11 percent from Italy.