Authorities say seven people were killed when a tractor-trailer crashed into a minivan on a rural two-lane highway in upstate New York on Wednesday.
Multiple news outlets reported victims of the accident included four children and three adults in their early 20s.
According to Capt. Mark Helms of the Cortland County Sheriff's Department, the tractor-trailer was headed south on a two-lane road on Route 13 in Truxton, NY. It was around 6 p.m. when the trailer crossed the center line, colliding into a minivan carrying eight people.
Officials have not disclosed the identities of the crash victims. The seven killed were all passengers in the minivan. The two people riding in the tractor-trailer sustained no injuries, authorities stated.
According to various reports, authorities are still investigating the cause of the accident.
The force of the deadly impact tore the minivan apart. Both vehicles came to rest on the shoulder of the roadway.
"It was a bad accident," Helms told the Associated Press.
Cortland County Coroner Whitney Meeker confirmed seven people died in the crash.
Officials said an injured man from the minivan who was taken to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse. His condition is unknown.
Meeker told the AP that autopsies of the crash victims will most likely completed with the next two days.
Next of kin would be notified early Thursday at the Cortland County Sheriff's office.
Douglas Randall, the fire commissioner for nearby Town of Cuyler, told the Associated Press "he was directing traffic about a mile north of the crash site when he saw what he believed to be distraught family members being escorted away from the scene."
"They were all meeting down the road at a family member's house," he said. "They were all hysterical."
Route 13 remained closed until 1:20 a.m. Thursday as police investigated the crash and crews removed wreckage from the scene.
