Truck drives over tent in North Dakota; 2 kids die

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - A speeding pickup truck driver killed two young brothers from Texas and injured their father and another boy when he lost control of his vehicle and drove over their tent at a North Dakota campground near the Canadian border, the Highway Patrol said Monday.

Trooper Capt. Gary Orluck said the 30-year-old driver from Newburg was arrested after the 1 a.m. Sunday accident at the Hahn's Bay Campground at Lake Metigoshe in Bottineau.

Bottineau County prosecutor Swain Benson says Juan Acosta is charged with two counts of manslaughter, two counts of reckless endangerment, one count of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, and drunken driving.

"He was driving too fast on a campground road, lost control and ran over the tent and crashed into a tree," Orluck said.

Five-year-old Alaries Ruiz and his 9-year-old brother, Cyris Ruiz, were killed. Their 28-year-old father, Juan Ruiz, was flown to a hospital in Minot, 85 miles southwest of the campground, where he was treated for serious but not life-threatening injuries, Orluck said. The boys' friend, 9-year-old Anthony Tabarez Jr., of Newburg, has minor injuries, he said.

The brothers had traveled from their home in El Paso, Texas, to visit their father who worked in the oil patch region of North Dakota. Their bodies were sent to Bismarck for autopsies and their mother, Sandy Hernandez, was heading to North Dakota on Monday.

"We have an indication that they were all camping together and all parties were at least acquaintances," Orluck said.