Church Agony. Five Children Heading To Disney World And Two Truck Drivers Die In A Fiery Accident.

This story hits close to home, because we ALWAYS were on the road traveling with our church youth group to different places. Thursday afternoon many families suffered unimaginable losses after a semi truck crossed the median of a highway causing a series of fatal car crashes.

One of the vehicles ambushed was a church van who were carrying some members traveling to the “happiest place on Earth”……Disney World. In all, seven people lost their lives that fateful day. Five of the deceased were children who were just trying to get to Disney World.

Here’s more from People Magazine.

“The Florida Highway Patrol has confirmed the names of the seven victims — including five children, none older than 14 — who were killed Thursday in a fiery-five vehicle crash involving a church van on its way to Walt Disney World.

The five children aboard the van were identified as Joel Cloud, 14, Jeremiah Warren, 14, Cierra Bordelan, 9, Cara Descant, 13, and 10-year-old Brieana Descant.

Three adults and nine children were in the van in total, heading to Orlando from Marksville, Louisiana.

It’s unknown if they were wearing seat belts at the time of the collision, the highway patrol said in news release.

The van’s driver, Amy Joffiron, 45, was seriously injured.

Two of the four other drivers in the crash were killed: Douglas Bolkema, 49, and Steve Holland, 59.

Bolkema, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was wearing a seat belt. But it’s unknown if Holland, who was from West Palm Beach, was restrained at the time of wreck.

Driver Robyn Rattray, 41, of Gainesville, Florida, was seriously injured. She was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.

Only the last driver, 61-year-old Mark Houghtaling, also of Gainesville, was physically spared. He was wearing a seat belt.

In addition to the seven slain victims, eight others were injured either critically or seriously, including two of the drivers.

The van was owned by Avoyelles House of Mercy in Marksville. On Friday afternoon, the United Pentecostal Church organization spoke out on behalf of the church.

Writing on his own page, the pastor mourned the deaths of the five children.

“My Lord Jesus—Though we have lost these precious little babies—Heaven has just been beautified immensely with these little Jesus Name Babies,” he wrote. “We know Lord they were always Yours! Though it’s hard to fathom that they are back in the Loving Hands of their creator, we will always love them.”

The highway patrol described the crash as a chain-reaction set off by Holland’s semi-truck about 3:40 p.m. Thursday in Alachua County. That’s when, “for an unknown reason,” Holland crossed into the lane to his left, hitting Rattray’s Honda and sending them both through the center median where Holland’s truck then hit the church van, which flipped several times.

“An unknown number” of people in the van were ejected, the highway patrol said.

Finally, Holland’s truck hit Bolkema’s semi-truck. Both trucks as well as Rattray’s vehicle caught fire.

Houghtaling’s pickup hit at least one of the victims who were ejected from the church van.

The investigation into the crash continues. However, alcohol was not involved, according to the highway patrol.

On Friday, Jeremy Warren’s older sister spoke to PEOPLE of her heartbreak.

“It was his first time going to Disney,” she said. “He never got to go on vacation. He grew up in a single-parent home.””

Investigators are still trying to figure out what made Steve Holland cross the medium. Court records show 59-year-old Holland was ticketed between 2000 and 2014 in Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Virginia for violations including speeding, driving an unsafe vehicle, driving an overloaded vehicle and not carrying proof of insurance. There’s no way of knowing what may have played a part until a complete investigated is done.

We’re asking that you all pray for everyone involved, including the family members of the deceased, the loved ones, the Avoyelles House Of Mercy church family, and the survivors.

May Steve, Douglas, Joel, Jeremiah, Cierra, Cara, and Brieana all rest in peace.