The Eastern Shoshone Tribe and the Northern Arapaho Tribe lost four people in a fatal accident that authorities in Wyoming say was caused by a suicidal young driver.

Corina Surrell-Norman, 41; her ex-husband, Arvin Surrell, 45; their 25-year-old son, Ethan Surrell; and his 20-year-old girlfriend, Melinda Escamilla, were killed when their vehicle was struck head on by another car driven by Matthew Denton, 17. Authorities say Denton purposely drove into the family's vehicle at a speed of 97 mph.

The Surrells were Shoshone. Escamilla was Arapaho. They were on their way to Utah for a doctor's appointment, the Associated Press reported.

“As a community we’re still absorbing the losses and supporting the families,” Ivan Posey, an Eastern Shoshone council member, told the AP. “It’s a family issue and the community is here to support them.”

Authorities ruled the cause of the four deaths to be homicide. They said Denton was suffering from personal problems but wouldn't provide details.

Get the Story:
Coroner: Head-on crash that killed 5 people in Wyo. was 97 mph murder-suicide by teen driver (AP 11/18)
Officials rule fatal Wyoming crash intentional (The Casper Star-Tribune 11/18)
Teen who killed four people in head-on car crash drove into van at 100mph to commit suicide (The Daily Mail 11/17)