4 Die as Van Flips on Way to Las Vegas : Blowout: Nine Anaheim residents were on their way to a wedding when the vehicle overturned near Barstow after a tire blew out.

Four Anaheim residents traveling to Las Vegas for a wedding were killed and five injured over the weekend when their van blew a tire on a desert highway and flipped over several times, authorities said Sunday.

All were members of a wedding party heading for a Sunday ceremony in Las Vegas. Among the dead were the groom’s mother, aunt, and his 7-year-old son.

California Highway Patrol officials identified the dead as Remedios Peralta, 66; the groom’s mother, Nene Almeria, who officials said was in her 50s, and Nico Almeria, 7, the groom’s son. The driver’s wife, Felisa Soldivillo, a 49-year-old registered nurse, was also killed in the crash.

None was wearing seat belts, according to CHP officials.

Butch Almeria and his bride-to-be, Sylvia Adrineda, neither of whom was in the van, postponed the wedding.

Five others who were riding in the 1985 Chevrolet en route from Anaheim to Las Vegas were injured in the accident that occurred about 35 miles north of Barstow, CHP officials said.

The injured, ages 7 to 55, were taken by helicopter to University Medical Center in Las Vegas and other area hospitals, according to Teri Howell, a CHP dispatcher. None of their injuries were determined to be life-threatening, CHP officials said.

A nursing supervisor at University Medical Center in Las Vegas said one of the injured women was in serious condition and a man and a 7-year-old boy were in fair condition. The condition of the two other victims was not immediately known.

The injured were identified as Gil Soldivillo, 51; Corazon Toble, 55; Jose Alma, 54; Luz Alama, 43, and Angelo Almeria, 7.

According to CHP officials, Gil Soldivillo was driving north on Interstate 15 Saturday when his van blew a tire about 1:25 p.m., causing him to lose control of the vehicle and swerve off the highway near Afton Canyon Road.

Soldivillo, a civil engineer from Anaheim, apparently made a desperate effort to swerve back on the freeway, before the van flipped, CHP officials said.

Soldivillo, the only occupant wearing a seat belt, suffered serious injuries, CHP officials said. His eight passengers were ejected on to the shoulder after the van flipped over several times, the spokesman said.

“This is too painful,” said a woman who answered the telephone at the Soldivillo’s Anaheim home Sunday. The woman, who identified herself as Trini Suasin said the family members would withhold comment about the tragedy until all their relatives are notified.

CHP officers and Barstow police closed the stretch of highway to allow paramedic crews in helicopters to land and take the five injured people to several hospitals in the Las Vegas and Barstow area.