2 boys fall out of car on Utah mountain road

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Two boys received cuts and bruises when they fell out of the back of an sports-utility vehicle Sunday on Mirror Lake Highway.

The accident happened about 3 p.m., the Utah Highway Patrol said, 5 miles east of Kamas. A mother was driving an Acura SUV west with four children on board. Two boys, ages 5 and 3, were sitting in the third row. The older boy was sitting in a booster seat, UHP said, but the younger one did not have a safety seat and was buckled in a regular seat belt.

For some reason, the tailgate opened, UHP said. Items from inside the vehicle started falling onto the road. The boys got out of the seat belts, perhaps to try to keep items from falling out, UHP said. While doing so, they fell over the seat and out of the SUV, hitting the pavement. UHP said the driver was cited with failure to use a safety seat.