A holiday to the United States turned tragic for a Singaporean family of four after three of them were killed and another injured in a traffic accident last Friday.

The family had been travelling north towards the Grand Canyon in a silver Hyundai when their car crossed the painted median and collided head-on with a green Dodge van. The car then crashed into a third vehicle while the van went into a ravine, Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) spokesman Kameron Lee told The Straits Times last night.

"The driver of the Hyundai and two passengers were pronounced deceased on scene. One additional passenger of the Hyundai was transported to Flagstaff Medical Centre," said Mr Lee.

It was reported by the Today news site that the Singaporean survivor is Ms Justlyn Yeo Jing Hui, a first-year student at the Nanyang Technological University.

Ms Yeo, who is from the university's Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, was reported to be in stable condition.

A 70km stretch of the highway was closed for seven hours to allow for investigations after the accident, which occurred at about 2.21pm local time (5.21am last Saturday in Singapore), said Mr Lee.

The driver of the van, who is from Spain, also died at the scene. Earlier news reports suggested that the family had been travelling in the van. Five people, including four Spanish passengers in the minivan, were injured in total, said Mr Lee.

When contacted, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined comment, citing respect for Ms Yeo's privacy.

The Straits Times, however, understands that the Singapore Consulate-General in San Francisco is assisting the family's relatives, who have flown to the US.

On Dec 11, a Singaporean died in a traffic accident in New Zealand that occurred on State Highway 6, Ruatapu Road, on the west coast of the South Island. Shin Min Daily News identified him as Mr Seow Kai Yuan. In May, also in New Zealand, a Singaporean couple died in a crash on State Highway 1, about 40km south of Christchurch.