This screen shot from the 2018 Freightliner’s dash camera shows the 2016 Freightliner entering the southbound lanes of I-75 (upper left). The House of Mercy church van is in the left lane and the pickup truck is in the center lane. An Acura struck by the truck in the northbound lane is alongside the truck and not visible. {Source: 2018 Freightliner Garmin dezlCam 785L-MT-S}
NTSB says 3 victims thrown from van were seatbelted
Three children killed in a five-vehicle accident in Florida on Jan. 3 were thrown from the vehicle despite wearing their seat belts, the National Transportation Safety Board reported on April 10.
Seven people died in that accident -- including five in a group from the House of Mercy church in Marksville who were on their way to Disney World. The drivers of two 18-wheelers were also killed.
The NTSB said “all aspects” of the accident are under investigation to determine “the probable cause, with the intent of issuing safety recommendations to prevent similar crashes.”
The Florida Highway Patrol is conducting a separate investigation of the accident.
The NTSB noted this report is “preliminary and will be supplemented or corrected during the course of the investigation.”
ACCIDENT DESCRIPTION
The accident occurred when a northbound 2016 Freightliner struck a car on Interstate 75 near Gainesville. Both vehicles traveled through the median and into the southbound lanes.
The 2016 Freightliner truck struck the van, causing it to roll twice before coming to a rest on its wheels. It continued across the southbound lanes and struck a 2018 Freightliner.
A photo from the 2018 Freightliner’s dash camera captured the scene prior to the collision in the southbound lanes.
The big rigs caught fire, due to a ruptured saddle tank on the 2016 Freightliner.
Seven members of the church group and the driver of the car were injured in the accident.
The van’s driver and front seat passenger were wearing seat belts and were not ejected from the vehicle. A southbound pickup truck was also damaged, but its driver was not injured.
The children killed included Joel Cloud and Jeremiah Warren, both 14; Cierra Bordelon, 9; Cara Descant, 13 and Brieana Descant, 10. The two truck drivers were Steve Holland, 59, of West Palm Beach, Fla., in the 2016 truck and Douglas, Bolkema, 49, of Albuquerque, N.M., in the 2018 vehicle.
The NTSB reported that Holland’s commercial driver’s license was valid until February 2022 and his medical certificate was current until 2020.