7 Children Killed in Fiery California Highway Crash

A fiery head-on collision in Central California left nine people dead Saturday, including seven children. Per the Los Angeles Times, the New Year's Day tragedy struck on Highway 33 in Fresno County at around 8 p.m. The California Highway Patrol told the paper that officers arrived to the scene to find a 2007 Ford "fully engulfed in flames" where it had come to a stop on a dirt shoulder. “When the fire was extinguished, it was discovered there were 8 occupants in the Ford,” the CHP report read. All the occupants died, as did the driver of the other vehicle.

Per the AP, seven of the victims were between the ages of 6 and 15 and came from two related families. Evidence from the scene indicated that a Dodge being driven by a 28-year-old man was traveling southbound on the highway when it veered onto the dirt shoulder for an unknown reason, the CHP said. The driver then overcorrected and swerved into the southbound lane, where it struck the Ford driven by a woman. The driver of the Dodge was identified as Daniel Luna of Avenal. The coroner's office was working on identifying the victims in the Ford.

(More car crash stories.)