Eight people were killed and 10 others injured early Monday when a church van crashed into a ditch in Glades County, Florida.
Florida Highway Patrol said the van carrying 18 people was heading east on US 27 when it ran a stop sign, crossed a four-lane highway and plummeted into a ditch partially filled with water shortly before 12:30 a.m., a local ABC affiliate reported.
Troopers said the Independent Haitian Assembly of God church van was coming from a service in Fort Myers and was returning to the Fort Pierce area.
Survivors of the crash, including a 4-year-old child, were transported to four different hospitals. Two of the adult passengers were in critical condition, CNN reported.
An investigation is being conducted to determine the cause of the crash, according to Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Greg Bueno.
A survivor from the crash said the van’s brakes seemed to fail as they were negotiating a curve, and they crashed straight into a canal, the ABC affiliate reported.
Some relatives of the crash victims gathered at the rural intersection Monday morning.
“We’ve lost a lot of family members, church family,” Phillipe Dorce, who said he lost his father, told the station. “All we can do is pray (to) God to help us out. Pray for us. It’s very sad for us.”
A pastor at the church, Sereste Doresma told CNN that parishioners had attended a revival in Fort Myers and had left Sunday afternoon.
“This is a very difficult day for us today,” he said.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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