Man, woman, girl killed in crash near Beatty were on spring break trip

The Nye County Sheriff’s Office has identified the two adults and child killed Saturday in a head-on crash north of Beatty, which left two other children injured.

They were Michael Durmeier, 39, Lauren Starcevich, 38, and Durmeier’s 12-year-old daughter, Georgia Durmeier.

A GoFundMe fundraiser identified Starcevich as Michael Durmeier’s fiancee. They were all from Victor, Idaho, a small city near the Idaho-Wyoming border, the Nevada Highway Patrol has said, and they had all been traveling on a “fun-filled spring break adventure” at the time of the crash, according to the fundraiser.

The crash happened on U.S. 95 near mile marker 99 in Nye County, within a few miles of the Scotty’s Junction turnoff for Death Valley National Park, the Highway Patrol said.

According to a Monday news release, a man in a 1998 Ford F-150 was headed north on U.S. 95 just as man, since identified as Michael Durmeier, was headed south in a silver 2011 Toyota Highlander with a woman, since identified as Starcevich, and three children inside, one of whom has since been identified as Georgia.

For unknown reasons, the Ford truck partially veered into the southbound lane, striking the driver’s side of the Toyota SUV.

The SUV overturned at impact, and Starcevich and two children were thrown from the car, the Highway Patrol said.

Michael Durmeier, Starcevich and Georgia died at the scene. The other two children were taken to University Medical Center, where one was in critical condition and the other was expected to survive, according to the Monday news release.

The Ford’s driver, who was suspected of impairment, was taken to University Medical Center in serious condition. He is from Tolleson, Arizona, a city in the general Phoenix area, according to the news release.

Georgia was “a beautiful, smart, and kind girl,” Jenessa Woolstenhulme, Georgia’s former first grade teacher, wrote in a message to the Review-Journal.

Woolstenhulme said she last saw Starcevich during a virtual parent-teacher conference last week for Starcevich’s daughter, who survived the crash. During the video call, Georgia “popped into the frame to say hello.”

“She always said hello or gave me a hug when she would see me after being in my class 5 years ago,” Woolstenhulme wrote. “They were telling me about their trip and how excited they were to visit several hot springs.”

A woman who identified herself as a sister of Michael Durmeier declined to speak with the Review-Journal.

Further information was not immediately available.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.