Funeral services were held in Paguate Village this week for 15-year-old Daniel Francis and his 22-year-old sister, Natasha Francis, both members of Laguna Pueblo, who were killed in a single-vehicle rollover Saturday afternoon on Interstate 40, according to the Gallup Independent and the Cibola County Beacon.

The two suffered severe head injuries after being thrown from a 1998 Mazda pickup that had a blowout, causing the driver to overcorrect, Laguna Police Sgt. Michelle Ray, who is acting police chief, told the Independent.

Officers arrived on scene around 1:27 p.m. and found Daniel Francis already dead, and a Lifeguard helicopter was called for Natasha Francis, but she died before the helicopter could transport her, Ray told the paper.

"The report does not say whether Daniel or Natasha were wearing seatbelts, but it does say they were ejected," said Ray, who attributed the accident to a blowout and not to alcohol, drugs or excessive speed, the Independent reported.

The accident just east of mile marker 112 on I-40 tied up eastbound traffic for about two hours, the Independent reported.

Ron Martinez, baseball coach at Laguna-Acoma High School, told the Cibola County Beacon that Daniel Francis, a sophomore, played on his team.

"He was disappointed that he didn't get to play more, but that was because he wanted to do anything he could to help the team win," Martinez told the Beacon.

Martinez said the same of Daniel's older sister Natasha, who played for him on the Laguna-Acoma girls' basketball team several years ago, the Beacon reported. 

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