BATTLE MOUNTAIN - An 11-year-old Illinois girl was killed in an April 4 vehicle accident on state Route 304 in Battle Mountain.
Nevada Highway Patrol troopers responded to the fatal accident at approximately 11:45 a.m. at Lander County milemarker 7.
A preliminary investigation by the NHP indicates Tameka Purdis, 31, of Chicago, was driving a 1999 Chrysler mini-van towing a 10-foot U-Haul trailer westbound on state Route 304.
Purdis was approaching a slow-moving commercial vehicle (semi) and began to pass, according to the NHP. She encountered a vehicle traveling eastbound in her travel lane. Purdis swerved to the right to avoid a head-on collision, then overcorrected to the left to regain the westbound lane. The mini-van and trailer rotated in a counterclockwise direction, traveled off the right paved shoulder and overturned.
During the rollover, a female juvenile was ejected and sustained fatal injuries at the scene, the NHP said. The mini-van had a total of nine occupants. All were from Chicago.
Those in the vehicle were the driver, Tameka Purdis, 31, Casey Purdis, 35, Donna Simms, 50, Hakeem Simms, 18, and five juveniles between the ages of 5 and 14 whose names were not released, including the deceased, who was 11 years old.
The NHP's preliminary investigation indicates seven of the nine occupants were not wearing their seatbelts. The preliminary investigation also indicates unsafe passing was a contributing factor in this accident.
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