LINCOLN, England, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- A British father says his family is "totally devastated" after four of his children were killed when the SUV he was driving slid off a road into a nearby river.

Nigel Gresham released a statement Wednesday saying he was driving his family along a narrow road in Coningsby Sunday when their Land Rover plunged into the river, The Daily Mail said.

"We are totally devastated by what has happened and I hope no one else ever has to go through what we are going through," the 36-year-old father said. "Each of my children is like a ray of light."

In addition to the four children killed, all between the ages of 2 and 8, Gresham's 9-year-old daughter was injured.

Two of Gresham's other children, along with the children's mother, were not injured.

The newspaper said the accident was thought to have occurred when Gresham was forced to move to the road's edge to allow a minibus to pass by in the opposite direction.