A van crash in Glades County, Florida, killed eight adults and injured 10 other people, the Florida Highway Patrol said Monday.
An investigation is being conducted to determine the cause of the crash, said Lt Greg Bueno, a Highway Patrol spokesman.
The van apparently was traveling east on State Road 78 when it ran a stop sign at U.S. Highway 27 early Monday, authorities said. It then traveled across all four lanes of U.S. 27, crossing a concrete median, and stopped in a ditch that was partially filled with water.
The large conversion van is affiliated with a church out of the Fort Pierce, Florida, area, Bueno said. The group was returning from a trip to Fort Myers.
Officials are not releasing the name of the church, or the names of the victims, pending notification of next of kin.
Of the passengers, all were adults except for a 4-year-old child who is now in stable condition at a local hospital. The injured are being treated at four different hospitals, and two are in critical condition.
The driver was killed in the crash.
Original estimates show that the van is likely to have been built to seat about 16 people.
Authorities think some of the passengers were wearing seat belts, Bueno said.
