ELKIN — The Memorial Day weekend started off with tragedy as three children deal with the loss of their parents and two siblings following a head-on collision on Interstate 77 at the 88 mile marker Friday morning.

Shortly after 9 a.m., a minivan traveling southbound crossed the median and hit two vehicles traveling in the northbound lanes. According to John Shelton, director of Surry County Emergency Services, all of the vehicles involved were traveling approximately 70 miles per hour when they collided.

Ten people in total were involved in the wreck.

The family in the minivan was traveling from New York state to a family reunion in Alabama when the vehicle struck a Toyota Tacoma, flipping the Toyota onto its side and into a Nissan Altima.

Shelton said a North Carolina Department of Transportation worker witnessed the accident and called 911 saying there was someone pinned in a vehicle, but when rescuers arrived, one tragedy after another unfolded before their eyes.

A two-year-old girl, Natalya Hicks, who was ejected from the minivan was pinned underneath the pick-up truck. After she was freed, the girl was airlifted to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center where she died about two hours after the crash.

Wayne Hicks, 44, of Queens, NY was driving the van. Authorities say he fell asleep at the wheel. Hicks, his wife, Natalie Hicks, as well as one as son, Wayne Hicks, Jr., 10, were pronounced dead at the scene.

The children who survived the wreck are all boys, Shelton said. Elijah, age 9, was uninjured and able to talk to Trooper Terry Bullington. Josiah, 4, and John, 5, both underwent surgeries Friday afternoon and were improving, Bullington said. The boys were all riding in the rear of the minivan on a bench seat.

Bullington was able to get in touch with a family member who was attending school in Greensboro. She was able to get to the hospital fairly quickly after the accident. He said there are more aunts and cousins who are on their way to the hospital from Atlanta, Ga.

Sandra Mowry, 61, of Hickory, was the driver of the pick-up. Her husband Bryan, 59, who was the passenger in the vehicle, was airlifted from the scene. They are in the ICU at Baptist hospital. Both are listed in critical condition.

It took rescuers at least an hour to remove the deceased from the minivan.

The already busy interstate was shut down in both lanes while helicopters landed in the median. The southbound lane was opened back up to traffic at 10 a.m., but lanes didn’t flow freely until 12 p.m. because of the lengthy backup. One northbound lane was reopened around lunchtime.

Bonnie Weddle, 49, of Dobson was the driver of the Nissan Altima. She was transported to Hugh Chatham Memorial with non-life threatening injuries. She was released Friday afternoon.

Shelton said the accident happened in a section of Interstate 77 that is notorious for bad accidents.

“This is a very dangerous section of highway, from Exit 100 down to the C.C. Camp Road exit. Please be careful. Most of what happens out here happens in an instant,” Shelton said.

“Please slow down and take your time,” Shelton advised holiday motorists.

Shelton said 38 accidents involving injuries occurred in that section of Interstate 77 in 2008.

Shelton warned drivers to be careful at all times, but especially during this Memorial Day weekend.

“Drivers need to take rest stops. They don’t need to travel more than two to four hours at a time without taking a break. They need to make sure they watch their speed and be observant because there are people all over the road,” he said.

He said the section of interstate where the accident occurred is particularly dangerous and drivers need to take plenty of breaks.

“It is a section of road that people try to travel a long distance in before they take a stop or a rest. Because most of the accidents that we have in that area are a result of driving too long without rest,” Shelton said.

In addition to service provided by Surry Emergency Services personnel, Elkin and Dobson Rescue Squads assisted at the scene along with firemen from the C.C. Camp, Jot-Um-Down, State Road and Dobson city fire departments.

Contact Mondee Tilley at mtilley@mtairynews.com or at 719-1930.