Head-on vehicle crash in Fresno kills 9, including 7 children

FRESNO, Calif. — Nine people, including seven children, were killed in a fiery head-on vehicle collision in Fresno County on Friday night, according to the California Highway Patrol.

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Officers were dispatched to a reported crash at about 8 p.m. and found a 2007 Ford “fully engulfed in flames,” highway patrol spokesperson Rory Marks told the Los Angeles Times.

According to troopers, a 28-year-old man was traveling south on Highway 33 in a 2013 Dodge, The Fresno Bee reported. At the same time, a 2007 Ford was headed north on the highway, the newspaper reported.

According to the highway patrol, the man in the Dodge veered onto the shoulder of the road, KFSN reported. The driver overcorrected and traveled into the southbound lane, and the vehicles collided head-on, the television station reported.

The Ford burst into flames, troopers said. The vehicle had only five restraints for its eight passengers, the Bee reported.

“When the fire was extinguished, it was discovered there were eight occupants in the Ford,” the CHP crash report stated.

The driver of the Dodge was later identified as Daniel Luna of Avenal, according to the Fresno County Coroner’s Office.

The coroner’s office was working on identifying all of the victims, spokesperson Tony Botti told the Bee. He said the driver of the Ford was an adult and all of the passengers were children.

“It looks like they’re two related families,” Botti told the newspaper. “The ages are between 6 and 15 years old (for the) seven children.”

The cause of the crash, and whether drugs or alcohol played a role, is still being investigated, Marks told the Times.

“We don’t have any witnesses to it, other than the people who came upon it,” Marks told the newspaper. “We are looking for help if anybody knows anything.”

Cox Media Group