Ga. church van flips, killing 4 and injuring 15

[October 04, 2010]  BLAKELY, Ga. (AP) -- A church van overturned and flipped multiple times after blowing a tire on a southwest Georgia highway, killing four people, authorities said.

In addition to the four who were killed, 15 others were injured in the Sunday crash on a highway south of Blakely, Georgia State Patrol Trooper Charles Hall told WALB-TV in Albany.

The van was on its way to Florida when a rear tire blew out, causing the driver to lose control, according to Georgia State Patrol spokesman Gordy Wright. The vehicle hit the median and flipped several times, ejecting some of the passengers.

No other vehicles were involved in the crash.

The 1987 Dodge Ram Wagon van, with an intended capacity of 15 passengers, was from the Tabernacle of Prayer and Deliverance in Columbus, Wright said. A phone listing for the church was disconnected.

Early County Coroner Todd Hunter declined to release names or ages of the victims, but troopers told WALB-TV that they ranged in age from young children to adults.

Wright didn't immediately respond to an e-mailed request for further information on the severity of the survivors' injuries, but said some were taken to area hospitals.

[Associated Press]

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