Eight people were killed and 10 were hurt in Florida on Monday when their church van drove through a stop sign and crashed into a road-side ditch that was partially filled with water, authorities said.
The single-vehicle crash occurred in Glades County at about 12:30 AM, Lieutenant Gregory Bueno of the Florida Highway Patrol said in a statement.
A preliminary investigation indicated that the van carrying 18 people was traveling east on State Road 78 when it passed through a stop sign. It crossed all lanes of traffic on U.S. Highway 27 and ended up in a steep, water-filled canal on the highway’s grass shoulder, Bueno said.
The driver of the van, associated with a church in the Fort Pierce area, and seven passengers died, and 10 other passengers were taken to local hospitals, according to the statement.
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