A metro Atlanta woman and two children were among the seven relatives killed in a fiery wreck in Indiana, police said Friday.
Yvette Williams, 35, of Forest Park, was driving a 2005 Jeep Cherokee on I-65 with six family members aboard when she was hit from behind by a semi-tractor pulling a trailer in Jasper County, according to Indiana State Police.
The impact pushed the Jeep into the back of a second semi hauling a trailer, igniting a fire that quickly engulfed the Jeep, police said. Both semis were also burned in the three-vehicle crash.
Firefighters extinguished the flames and found two deceased people in the Jeep, but were unsure initially how many victims were involved, police said.
“Due to the severity of the damage to the Jeep, investigators had it transported to Keener Township Fire Department so emergency personnel could make extrication,” police said in an emailed statement. “While disassembling the Jeep, emergency workers found five more bodies, in addition to the two bodies observed at the crash scene.”
Investigators found three adults and four children dead inside the vehicle, according to police. Those killed were identified as Amado Mangual, 49, Lindsey Williams, 27, Yazmin Goldman, 5, and Arielle Goldman, 3, all of Merrillville, Ind.; and Jamin Osborne, 5, Jasmin Osborne, 7, and Williams, 35, all of Georgia.
Details regarding how the seven were related were not released late Friday. The wreck remains under investigation, but neither alcohol nor drugs are suspected.
The two drivers of the semis were not seriously injured.
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