Church Van Crash Claims Lives of 5 Children, 2 Adults Near Disney World

A church van from Louisiana was en route to Disney World when it became involved in a fiery, multi-car crash near Gainesville, Florida, leaving five children in the van dead, the church said. The van, operated by the United Pentecostal Church in Marksville, Louisiana, was carrying nine children and three women, including a pregnant woman, according to Kevin Cox, Louisiana District Superintendent for the United Pentecostal Church.

Besides the five children, two men driving two semi-trucks involved in the massive collision also died, the highway patrol said. Those men were Douglas Bolkema, 49, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Steve Holland, 59, of West Palm Beach, Florida. The crash unfolded when a semi-truck was heading north and collided with a northbound passenger car, the highway patrol said. After the collision, both cars went through the guardrail, into the center median and then into the southbound lanes, the highway patrol said.

Heading southbound at the time was a passenger van and another semi-truck. When the semi-truck crossed into the southbound lanes, it crashed with the van and the southbound semi-truck, officials said. Mandi Lamonda was driving north when she “noticed some white smoke on the south side of 75.” “Then all of a sudden I heard a big boom,” she told ABC News, “and then tons of black smoke.” Fifty gallons of diesel fuel spilled in the crash, Alachua County Fire Rescue said, and both semi-trucks caught on fire.

The pregnant woman survived and her pregnancy was stabilized, a pastor said, Friday evening. Church officials initially said the baby was successfully delivered after the crash, but updated their public statements later on Friday. One of the five children who died was the granddaughter of a pastor, the church said. The deaths are considered traffic homicides, a highway patrol spokesperson said. Six to eight people were injured, officials said. The four surviving children were all injured but will likely recover, according to Cox.

Cox in his statement urged people to “pray for the healing of those physical injuries. And, perhaps even more so, pray for that church family that has been so massively affected by this tragedy.” Jacquee Wahler, a spokeswoman for the Walt Disney World Resort, said in a statement, “There are no words to convey the sorrow we feel for those involved in yesterday’s tragedy. We extend heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones impacted by this tragic accident.” Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said his heart goes out to all of the church members impacted by the tragedy.

Source: Read the original report