Russell and Judith Days often spent their Thanksgiving holiday vacationing aboard a cruise ship, but a decision this year to hit the road instead of the seas led to tragedy.

Piled into their minivan, the Days traveled to Massachusetts with their daughter, Colleen Harper; grandchildren, Jessica Harper, 15, and William Harper, 4; son, Paul Arthur; and two pets to visit relatives for the extended weekend. But their rare journey together ended abruptly late Saturday night in North Carolina when three of the passengers died in a crash.

According to the North Carolina Highway Patrol, Judith Perry Days was driving the family''s minivan south on Interstate 95 near Benson, N.C., at about 11:30 p.m. Saturday when she hit a mile-marker sign and over-corrected, causing the minivan to roll over several times.

Days and grandchildren, Jessica and William, died at the scene. Jessica had been resting without her seatbelt and was thrown from the vehicle. William was secured in a booster seat. The three other passengers - Days'' daughter and the children''s mother, Colleen; Days'' husband, Russell; and Arthur - were treated at Betsy Johnson Regional Hospital in Dunn, N.C., and released.

It had been about 10 years since Judith had been to her home state and even longer since she had done so with her husband, son, daughter and grandchildren. Having Arthur along on the vacation was a rare occasion, said Leslie Hammond, chief curator at the Appleton Museum of Art where all three survivors are employed. He typically liked to stay home, look after things and take care of the dogs while the other family members vacationed, she said.

"He was excited about it, but he wasn''t looking forward to the drive," she said.

The stretch of I-95 near mile marker 79 is not well lit, but there is nothing wrong with the road, said Sgt. J.A. Starling with the North Carolina Highway Patrol, adding that there was no fog or rain at the time of the crash.

As deadly as the crash was, it could have been much worse, Starling said. Often, vehicles that roll in that area jump the thin median and land in oncoming traffic in the northbound lanes, he said. Days'' minivan rolled across both lanes of southbound traffic and stopped against the median guardrail.

The family began driving back to Ocala from Massachusetts Saturday morning, and Days had just replaced her husband as the driver at the Virginia line when the crash occurred, Starling said.

Jessica was a sophomore at Forest High School. The student government voted on Monday to send flowers to the memorial service, and counselors will be available for students.

Judith Days watched Colleen''s children regularly and was a constant figure in the neighborhood, said Florence March, Days'' neighbor.

"It''s just so hard to look out and see the house," Marsh said.

One of the two family dogs, Arthur''s Chihuahua, Fawn, also was killed in the accident. The other pet, a poodle, was taken by animal control to a safe location to be held until family could pick it up, Starling said.