PANOLA COUNTY, TX (WKYT) - The Panola County Sheriff's Office in Texas says deputies are investigating a deadly wreck on Highway 315, near Carthage on Saturday morning.
According to KGAS, four people were killed in the crash, and three others were airlifted. Deputies tell KGAS that the driver of a GMC Savana had slowed for a vehicle turning into a residence off of Highway 315. The Savana was then struck from behind by the Tahoe, pushing it into the path of an 18-wheeler traveling southbound.
?When I got on scene what I initially saw was quite a mess of an accident; probably the worst I?ve ever seen, several fatalities and several people injured and a lot of the vehicles that were involved you couldn?t even really make out what kind of vehicles they were before the accident happened," Blake Holland, a reporter from KGAS, told WKYT.
The pastor of Clays Mill Baptist Church in Lexington says a family involved in the crash were from Lexington. He says they attended the church.
The pastor tells WKYT that Isreal Avelar, 46, and his three sons, Kevin, Daniel, and Matthew, were killed in the crash. He says Avelar's wife, Hilda, 41, his 11-year-old daughter, Kimberly, and his mother, Lazara Abaraca, were injured in the crash. Hilda and his mother were taken to a hospital in Tyler, Texas. Kimberly was taken to a children's hospital in Dallas.
Police in Texas say Kevin Avelar, 17, was driving the GMC. Kevin and Israel Avelar were taken to a hospital in Carthage where they died. Daniel and Matthew were pronounced dead at the scene.
Family is on their way to Texas. They were expected to arrive late Saturday night.
Kerr Brothers Funeral Home in Lexington will be handling the arrangements.
The church is planning a service for Sunday to remember the victims and pray for the injured.