Witness: SUV carrying kids sped up before plunging off cliff

BOISE, Idaho -- Authorities dug deeper Friday into what might have caused a dramatic SUV crash that killed an Idaho woman and her three children, while the kids' schools arranged to make counselors available for grieving classmates.

Investigators so far have released few details about the crash, other than to say a witness reported seeing the vehicle accelerate from the side of the road before it went off a cliff and plummeted about 70 feet into a reservoir.

Deputies found no skid or brake marks near the cliff, the Ada County Sheriff's Office said.

"We do not know if it was a mechanical issue or a medical issue or if this was in fact an intentional act on the mother's part," sheriff's department Capt. Dana Borgquist said, CBS Boise affiliate KBOI-TV reports. "We're investigating that at this time. We're gonna follow up on every lead."

Also Friday, the county coroner's office identified the victims as 40-year-old Noel J. Voermans, 13-year-old Anika Noel Voermans, 11-year-old Logan R. Voermans and 8-year-old Gwyneth G. Voermans, all of Boise.

The children all died of drowning associated with blunt-force trauma from the crash, the coroner's office said.

The mother's cause of death was drowning. Toxicology results won't be available for several weeks, a spokesman said, and then they'll be turned over to the sheriff's office.

The SUV drove off a cliff Thursday morning near a bridge on State Highway 21. It then plunged into Lucky Peak Reservoir.

The top of the vehicle collapsed from the impact, deputies said. The SUV then sank about 40 feet before hitting the bottom.

Divers pulled the children's bodies from the water about an hour and a half after the crash. Noel Voermans' body was trapped in the wreckage and removed once the vehicle was brought to the surface Thursday afternoon.

Investigators will study the wreckage to determine if the vehicle had any mechanical problems, authorities said.

However, a sheriff's spokesman said Friday no additional updates were immediately planned.

The children attended East Junior High School and Riverside Elementary in the Boise School District.

Classes for the year ended Thursday, but school officials were making counselors available at both schools Friday and Monday. Students don't need to make an appointment, school officials said.

"This is a sensitive issue for children, and we suggest that you talk with your children about their feelings," the district said in an email to parents. "Your children may have been friends or classmates who knew the victims and, as a result, may need counseling services."