Four killed in weather-related wreck

The North Carolina State Highway Patrol said five people from Atlanta were traveling westbound on U.S. Highway 64, east of Creswell when their vehicle hit a patch of standing water, hydroplaned and skidded off the highway into a ditch.

WITN-TV in Greenville reported that witnesses told investigators that a Jeep went off the right side of the road, down a small hill, hit an embankment and flipped into a canal.

Troopers told the news outlet that those killed appeared to have drowned.

Authorities have identified the victims as Daniel Alvarez, 27, who was the driver, Natalie Owens, 27, and Zacharia Alvarez, 3.

Ezekiel Alvarez, 3, was taken to Pitt Memorial Hospital for treatment.