Crash kills two, injures five headed for Grand Canyon

PHOENIX -- A van carrying a magazine sales crew on a trip to the Grand Canyon overturned on a busy interstate north of Phoenix Sunday, killing two people and critically injuring five others, authorities said. The crash backed up traffic on Interstate 17 in both directions as rescue crews brought in a helicopter and ambulances to help the victims. Nine people were in the van when the driver overcorrected and the van rolled three times, ending up in the median, the Arizona Department of Public Safety said. At least six people were thrown from the vehicle. Officials said the van had Illinois license plates. KPNX-TV in Phoenix reported that the van carried members of a sales crew for a magazine sales firm, Alliances Services Co., which has crews largely made up of teens and young adults.

The owner of the van, Sandra Hall, contracts with the company and told the station the van had been taken without her knowledge.

"I started crying. I can't imagine," Hall said. "I'm a parent. My first concern was for the kids."