“Fire was just doubling every second” 6 killed in I-85 crash in Gwinnett County

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Gwinnett County police say at least six people were killed and 10 were injured in a crash involving a passenger van on Interstate 85 Saturday.

Police said the crash happened in the northbound lanes of I-85 near the I-985 split just after 6:30 p.m.

Police said the vehicle rolled over onto its side and caught fire. Passersby attempted to pull victims from the burning van.

All six victims died at the scene and several others were taken to the hospital. Police said there were a total of 16 people in the van. Police have not identified the victims but said all the victims appear to be adults and were part of a sober living group.

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Channel 2′s Tyisha Fernandes spoke with a witness who was driving on I-85 Saturday night. He saw cars in front of him swerving to miss something. That is when he saw the van on fire.

“As I pulled over to the shoulder on the left hand side, I saw a man running up to the van and start kicking the windshield. So I knew at that point I was like oh no this is a pretty dire situation,” the witness said. “The van was leaking fuel because the fire was just growing so fast. The fire was just doubling every second it seemed like.”

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Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the crash and believe another vehicle may have been involved.

Witnesses are urged to call the Accident Investigation Unit tip line at 678-442-5653.

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