ATLANTA, Ga. (WANF/Gray News) – A truck driver has been charged in a crash on I-85 that killed eight people, including five children.
The victims were killed Monday afternoon when a semitrailer struck their van, and it burst into flames, according to law enforcement.
The semitrailer was following too close to the Dodge van on the interstate in Jackson County, about 62 miles northeast of Atlanta, when the crash happened, authorities said.
Four other vehicles also crashed in what officials described as a “chain reaction” after the initial collision.
The truck driver, identified as 33-year-old Kane Hammock, of Gainesville, was arrested and booked in connection with the crash, according to documents.
Hammock has been charged with eight counts of second-degree vehicular homicide, second-degree vehicular feticide, following too closely, distracted driving and operating a vehicle without a current plate.
Seven people in the van were pronounced dead at the scene, the Georgia State Patrol said shortly after the crash.
The body of an eighth victim was discovered later at the crash site, Deputy Jackson County Coroner Dean Stringer said Tuesday. Details about where the victim was found were not immediately released.
Family members identified the deceased as Kenia Ramirez and Darwin Ventura, along with their child, Kayle. The family told WANF that the couple had another baby on the way.
Sonia Maribel Ramirez, Kenia’s mother, was also killed, along with her children Justin, Andy, Natali and Evan.
The five children were between the ages of 2 and 16, the family said.
Authorities have not officially identified them.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), in coordination with the Georgia State Patrol, has opened a safety investigation into this fatal crash.
