Two women from Cleveland have died following a one-vehicle crash that hospitalized six other people late Monday afternoon on the Thruway in Chautauqua County, state police said.

Hanh Nguyen, 36, died early today in Hamot Medical Center in Erie, Pa., state police officials reported. Hang Phan, 64, another passenger in the vehicle carrying nine people, died Monday in the Erie, Pa. hospital.

The accident occurred at about 4:15 p.m. Monday in the Town of Portland, between exits 59 (Dunkirk-Fredonia) and 60 (Westfield).

State police said a westbound vehicle driven by Hung Q. Tran, 37, of Cleveland, drifted into the Thruway median. The minivan then crossed back over the westbound lanes and the north shoulder, before plunging down an embankment and striking a tree, troopers reported.

Four children and five adults were in the vehicle. One child was treated at the scene, while the other eight people were taken to Hamot, Westfield Memorial Hospital and Women and Children's Hospital.

The state Thruway Authority reported that the accident closed all westbound lanes of the Thruway.

citydesk@buffnews.comnull