The family members, all driving in one car, were killed after a semitrailer collided with their van, causing a fiery pileup
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A vehicle after the crash on I-85 in Jackson County on Monday, Oct. 13.
Eight members of the same family died in a fiery crash on a Georgia highway this week, relatives told a local news outlet.
On Monday, Oct. 13, the victims — five kids between the ages of 2 and 16, a mother, her pregnant daughter and her daughter’s partner — were pronounced dead at the scene after their van burst into flames when a semitrailer collided with them on I-85 in Jackson County, according to Atlanta News First.
An eighth victim was subsequently confirmed in a news release from the Georgia Department of Public Safety, though authorities did not release their identities beyond saying they were three adults and five children.
In a statement shared with PEOPLE, authorities said an investigation revealed the semi had been “following too closely” behind the van.
This then resulted in the collision, which caused a “chain reaction” involving four additional vehicles, authorities said.
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In their Tuesday, Oct. 14, release, the Georgia Department of Public Safety said the driver of the truck — Kane Aaron Hammock, 33, of Gainesville, Ga. — had been “arrested and charged with eight counts of Vehicular Homicide (2nd degree), one count of Feticide by Vehicle (2nd degree), one count of Following Too Closely, one count of No Registration, and one count of Driver to Exercise Due Care.”
In their Tuesday, Oct. 14, release, the Georgia Department of Public Safety said the driver of the truck — Kane Aaron Hammock, 33, of Gainesville, Ga. — had been “arrested and charged with eight counts of Vehicular Homicide (2nd degree), one count of Feticide by Vehicle (2nd degree), one count of Following Too Closely, one count of No Registration, and one count of Driver to Exercise Due Care.
“There is a possibility of one adult [victim] being pregnant, but this will not be confirmed until an autopsy has been completed,” officials said.
It was not immediately clear if Hammock had entered a plea or retained an attorney who could comment on his behalf.
The victims’ family members told Atlanta News First that the dead included pregnant Kenia Ramirez, Darwin Ventura and their child, Kayle, as well as Kenia’s mother, Sonia Maribel Ramirez, and her children Justin, Andy, Natali and Evan.
On Facebook, Furkids Animal Rescue and Shelters said that one of their vans was transporting 37 cats to a partner shelter when it also became involved in the multi-vehicle collision.
“We are devastated for the families affected, and our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with them,” they wrote, adding that their driver was injured and their van was “destroyed,” with “many of our cats scattered in fear.”
All but two of the cats have since been rescued, but one kitten was hospitalized due to their injuries.
“It is truly a miracle that more were not lost or fatally wounded – but we know we aren’t out of the woods yet,” the organization wrote.
The Georgia Department of Public Safety confirmed that the National Transportation Safety Board and Georgia State Patrol are investigating the crash.
