Father dies, 2 children seriously injured as SUV lands on roof in Plymouth River

A 50-year-old father died and his two children were seriously injured Friday evening after the SUV he was driving left Route 3 in Plymouth and landed on its roof in the Eel River.

Daniel Zilinski, of Plymouth, was transported by medical helicopter to a Boston hospital where he was pronounced dead. The two children in his vehicle, a 13-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy, were seriously injured and were hospitalized, state police said.

For reasons yet to be determined, Zilinski’s southbound 2015 Nissan Rogue left the left side of the road around 5:10 p.m. Emergency personnel “worked quickly” to free the three occupants from the overturned vehicle. , the police said. The accident is still under investigation.

A GoFundMe fundraiser launched in the name of Zilinski’s wife, Jen, identified the injured as Zilinski’s daughter and son. “My children have broken bones, bumps and bruises, but they will be OK, thank God for that,” Jen Zilinski wrote in a shared statement. “Dan was one of the kindest and most loving people I have ever known, he loved me and his children more than anything, and was my rock and best friend.”

The fundraiser had raised nearly $25,000 as of Monday afternoon.