MOORE HAVEN, Fla. (AP) – A church van ran through a stop sign, crossed all four lanes of a rural highway and crashed into in a canal, killing eight people and injuring 10 early Monday in southwest Florida, authorities said.
“They didn’t see that stop sign. They shot right through it,” Glades County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Duane Pottorff said. “It was a sad evening.”
The van was heading back to church in Fort Pierce, north of West Palm Beach on the Atlantic coast, after a weekend convention in Fort Meyers, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Eighteen people were onboard when the van crashed about 12:30 a.m. Monday, said Lt. Gregory S. Bueno of the Highway Patrol.
A 911 call came in at 12:31 a.m., and deputies arrived four minutes later, officials said. The van had gone down an eight-to-10 foot embankment and landed in shallow water of the canal, which is lined with tall grass and weeds.