HYATTSVILLE, Md. (AP) – Four people including a child have died and 12 others have been injured after a van caught fire in a crash with a pickup truck in a Maryland suburb of the nation’s capital on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.
Marc Bashoor, chief of the Prince George’s County Fire Department, said via Twitter that three adults and one child were confirmed as fatalities. He said the accident occurred late Sunday afternoon on a road in Hyattsville just northeast of Washington, D.C.
Fire department Spokesman Mark Brady said on television that 12 others, including seven adults and five children, were injured. He added that some of the injuries appeared life-threatening. He cautioned that the numbers could change as the investigation continues.
Brady also said on television that authorities believe that a pickup truck first collided with another vehicle, and then continued forward with a tire on fire when it hit the blue van, which was big enough to hold 15 passengers.
Brady said most of the injuries and fatalities were concentrated in the passenger van.