Idaho police release the names of 6 killed in Yellowstone crash

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho police on Friday released the names of six people from China, Italy and California killed when a pickup truck collided with their tour van in a fiery crash near Yellowstone National Park earlier this month.

Idaho State Police said Jianping Li, 71, of Guangxi, China, and Xiaoming Jiang, 66, of Guilin, China, died from the May 1 crash along with Ivana Wen, 28, of Milan.

Two of the deceased travelers were California residents: Li Nie, 64, and Aifeng Wan, 53, both of Arcadia. The van’s 30-year-old driver Yu Zhang, of Eastvale, California, was also killed.

Idaho police earlier Friday listed Jian Shi, 56, of Shanghai, as among the dead but later corrected their statement to say Shi sustained injuries but survived the crash. Police said the first statement should have included Li as among the dead.

There were 14 people in the van. Of the 13 passengers, 12 had Chinese nationality and one was Italian, police said. Survivors were taken to nearby hospitals with injuries.

The truck’s driver also died. Authorities earlier identified him as Isaih Moreno of Humble, Texas.

Investigators determined the Dodge Ram driven by Moreno crossed the center line and collided with the Mercedes van driven by Zhang. Police said they were continuing to investigate why the truck crossed the center line.

The highway where the crash happened south of West Yellowstone, Montana, offers a way to get between Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons in the spring before a north-south route is plowed and the park fully opens for summer.

Yellowstone is one of the largest national parks in the U.S. and draws millions of visitors each year. It is home to the iconic geyser Old Faithful and has wolves, bison and more than 50 other mammal species. It’s primarily located in Wyoming but it also extends in parts of Montana and Idaho.

Seventeen percent of Yellowstone’s visitors came from other countries in 2016, according to a park visitor use study with the most recent comprehensive data available. Of international visitors, 34% came from China and 11% from Italy.