Some extremely unfortunate news out of upstate New York: Seven occupants of a minivan, were killed Wednesday night when their vehicle was struck by a runaway trailer carrying crushed cars.
CBS News reports that the van was traveling on Route 13 around 6 p.m. in the town of Truxton when the trailer disconnected from a big rig's hitch and slammed into the van, "ripping it apart."
One of the van's occupants was taken to a Syracuse hospital, but the other seven — including four children under the age of 10 — were killed, according to reports. The kids were from two families who live in Truxton and a nearby town. Two people in the truck were not hurt.
Authorities say they don't know exactly why the trailer became unhitched. The area was hit with heavy thunderstorms on Wednesday evening, which may have contributed to the crash in some way.
YNN Syracuse said the accident dealt a huge blow to those communities.
"It's a very small town. A lot of people know everybody. I don't know if the people involved are in the town, but it's likely that they are,” said Bruce Potter, Truxton Assistant Fire Chief. “You never know what you're going to walk into when you go into an accident."
Photo credit YNN Syracuse