A 3-year-old girl was in critical condition Tuesday after being trapped underwater in a vehicle that rolled into a canal.

Emergency crews said the girl might have been underwater for as many as five minutes after the 3:15 p.m. crash. on Interstate 15 near Willard Bay in Box Elder County. She was flown to Primary Children's Medical Center, said Utah Highway Patrol spokesman Cameron Roden.

The girl was strapped into a car seat in a Dodge Colt, which carried an adult and three other children, about 3:15 p.m., when the vehicle veered off the shoulder and rolled into the adjacent canal.

The girl was initially unresponsive and not breathing. Crews resuscitated her, Roden said, and her vital signs were mostly normal en route to the hospital.

The other three children and the driver all were taken to a Brigham City-area hospital with minor injuries.

All southbound traffic was closed for more than an hour after the accident.

Roden said it was not immediately clear what caused the Colt to leave the freeway.

Steve Gehrke