ATLANTA (TNND) — Eight people, including five children, died in a multi-car collision involving a semi-trailer on Interstate 85 in Jackson County, Georgia, just after 4 p.m. on Monday.
Authorities reported that 33-year-old Kane Aaron Hammock was driving the semi-trailer, which struck the rear of a 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan, causing a chain reaction with four additional vehicles. The impact resulted in a fire engulfing both the Dodge van and the truck.
Hammock was arrested and faces multiple charges: eight counts of second-degree vehicular homicide, one count of second-degree feticide by vehicle, one count of following too closely, and one count of no registration. He was taken into custody on the day of the crash by the Georgia State Patrol.
Jackson County Deputy Coroner Jeff Rogers confirmed the presence of eight individuals in the van, although their identities have not yet been released. There is a possibility that one adult may have been pregnant, pending autopsy results.
Among the other vehicles affected was a van from Furkids Animal Rescue and Shelters, which was transporting 37 cats to a shelter in Vermont. Following the collision, two cats remain missing while one is hospitalized in critical condition.
The investigation is ongoing, led by the Georgia State Patrol's Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team, with assistance from the National Transportation Safety Board.