March 26, 2010 3:33 PM
- Text
11 Killed when Truck, Van Crash in Ky.
(CBS/AP)
A truck crossed a Kentucky interstate median and slammed head-on into a Mennonite church van headed to a wedding, killing 11 people, state police said Friday.
State police Trooper Charles Swiney said two children survived the crash with the tractor-trailer on northbound Interstate 65.
A pastor for the family in the van said they were Mennonites on their way to a wedding in Iowa. Authorities say the truck driver, who was from Alabama, was also killed.
CBS affiliate WLKY: Raw video of crash scene
Officials say the tractor-trailer crossed the median and struck the van head-on around 5:30 a.m. CDT near Munfordville, about 75 miles south of Louisville.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it was dispatching a team to investigate the crash.
Pastor Leroy Kauffman with the Marrowbone Christian Brotherhood in Burkesville, about 55 miles southeast of the crash site, says the two surviving children were taken to a nearby hospital.
Joe Middleton, a supervisor at Caverna Memorial Hospital in Horse Cave, said two survivors from the accident were taken there and released around 10 a.m.
He couldn't confirm their identities or injuries due to privacy laws, but said it was his understanding they were the only two survivors of the crash.
Kauffman said there were three young children on board ages 1, 3 and 5. He said the father was an assistant pastor at the church and there was also a couple on board the van who were engaged to be married, although they were traveling to someone else's wedding.
"They had a July wedding planned but they won't need that now," Kauffman said. "They'll have a wedding in heaven I guess."
He said the family's house burned down in December and they had just moved into a new home built by church members.
"We're experiencing a lot of heartache and a lot of sadness, but with that a hope," Kauffman said. "We know where these people are going, they were all saved Christians and walking with the Lord."
The crash is one of the most deadly traffic accidents in recent Kentucky history. On May 14, 1988, 27 people were killed in a fiery bus crash caused by a drunken driver going the wrong way on Interstate 71 in Carroll County. That bus was owned by the First Assembly of God church in Radcliff and was filled with youths returning from an amusement park.
State police Trooper Charles Swiney said two children survived the crash with the tractor-trailer on northbound Interstate 65.
A pastor for the family in the van said they were Mennonites on their way to a wedding in Iowa. Authorities say the truck driver, who was from Alabama, was also killed.
CBS affiliate WLKY: Raw video of crash scene
Officials say the tractor-trailer crossed the median and struck the van head-on around 5:30 a.m. CDT near Munfordville, about 75 miles south of Louisville.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it was dispatching a team to investigate the crash.
Pastor Leroy Kauffman with the Marrowbone Christian Brotherhood in Burkesville, about 55 miles southeast of the crash site, says the two surviving children were taken to a nearby hospital.
Joe Middleton, a supervisor at Caverna Memorial Hospital in Horse Cave, said two survivors from the accident were taken there and released around 10 a.m.
He couldn't confirm their identities or injuries due to privacy laws, but said it was his understanding they were the only two survivors of the crash.
Kauffman said there were three young children on board ages 1, 3 and 5. He said the father was an assistant pastor at the church and there was also a couple on board the van who were engaged to be married, although they were traveling to someone else's wedding.
"They had a July wedding planned but they won't need that now," Kauffman said. "They'll have a wedding in heaven I guess."
He said the family's house burned down in December and they had just moved into a new home built by church members.
"We're experiencing a lot of heartache and a lot of sadness, but with that a hope," Kauffman said. "We know where these people are going, they were all saved Christians and walking with the Lord."
The crash is one of the most deadly traffic accidents in recent Kentucky history. On May 14, 1988, 27 people were killed in a fiery bus crash caused by a drunken driver going the wrong way on Interstate 71 in Carroll County. That bus was owned by the First Assembly of God church in Radcliff and was filled with youths returning from an amusement park.
Latest Now in National
- Lawsuit filed over Jesus statue on public land
- Pa. church official wants new judge, alleges bias
- Court says Lee Grace Dougherty has plea deal
- Officer in WA accused of stealing from family fund
- Investigation concludes in Rutgers Newark dorm
- Edwards campaign owes taxpayers but still spending
- Judge: Secret evidence OK in Iraqi in terror case
- Ford's Theatre opens center to study Lincoln in DC
- EPA: US needs $300B in sewer, water work
- Justice Department calls Swiss Bank a "fugitive"
- Suspect testifies in ND gun-in-courtroom case
- Washington state poised to approve gay marriage
- AP: Pa. rep says he'll resign when sentenced
- Picht named bureau chief in Minn., Neb., Dakotas
- Picht named bureau chief in Minn., Neb., Dakotas
- Researchers probe 200-year-old shipwreck off RI
- Pickup collides with Ohio school bus; 8 kids hurt
Latest CBS News Headlines
on Facebook
on CBS News
- Lawsuit filed over Jesus statue on public land
- Pa. church official wants new judge, alleges bias
- Court says Lee Grace Dougherty has plea deal
- Officer in WA accused of stealing from family fund
on Facebook
- Adele sings a cappella for Anderson Cooper
- Josh Powell had "incestuous" images on his home computer, authorities say
on CBS News
