TROY, Mo. (AP) -- A minivan carrying a woman and four children crossed into the path of a tanker truck Wednesday morning in eastern Missouri, killing three children and critically injuring the woman and fourth child.

The truck driver was not injured.

Sgt. Al Nothum with the Missouri State Highway Patrol said the woman was driving a minivan around 8:45 a.m. on an outer road and attempting to head north on Highway 61 outside of Troy in Lincoln County.

A truck already heading north on the highway struck the driver's side of the minivan. The woman was ejected from the minivan. She and the fourth child are both hospitalized in critical condition, Nothum said.

He did not comment on the relationship among the victims, and their names have not been released.