VICTORIA COUNTY, Texas — Five people are dead, including two children, after a passenger van slammed into an 18-wheeler then a pickup truck, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Crash investigators tell KHOU 11 News the 2016 Ford passenger van was traveling northbound on US 59 near Telferner, TX when the front of the van hit the back of the big rig.
The crash happened just before 11 a.m.
Troopers say the driver of that van then crossed the center median and slammed head-on into a 2015 Ford F-250 pickup truck.
The woman driving the van, along with a man riding in the front passenger seat, another man and two children in the back, all died at the scene.
Five other people, also in the van, were taken to area hospitals, including one who was flown by Life Flight to the Texas Medical Center.
The driver and passenger of the F-250 were also hurt and taken to area hospitals. Crash investigators are working to get updated conditions of all of the victims who survived.
The driver of the 18-wheeler was not hurt.
The crash closed the highway for hours Saturday morning.
Investigators are hoping survivors inside of the van will be able to explain what happened in the moments leading up to the deadly collision, and why the van struck the 18-wheeler.