This has got to be one of the saddest stories I have ever read, and one of the most gruesome scenes for emergency workers


By John Sutter
The Oklahoman

Seven people died on an icy Oklahoma highway this morning after their minivan skidded into oncoming traffic and was hit by a tractor-trailer, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

The accident occurred on Interstate 40 near Elk City, in western Oklahoma, at about 3 a.m., said Capt. Chris West, of the highway patrol.

The minivan carried a total of 12 people, West said.

Six men and one woman were killed in the wreck, he said, and the remaining five people were taken to a local hospital with varied injuries.

West said all of those involved in the accident were adults.

The passengers of the minivan were all residents of Mexico who were driving cross-country, from Arizona to North Carolina, he said.

Identities of the victims have not been released.

The minivan was eastbound on I-40 when it apparently hit a slick spot on the road and slid across the median into westbound traffic. A tractor-trailer slammed into the van, leaving behind a gruesome scene, according to Lt. Bob Turner of the Elk City Police Department.

"It was a horrible wreck. It just tore the van up. It crushed it," he said.

He said the minivan apparently faced the truck head-on at the time of impact.

The accident brings the number of Oklahoma deaths blamed on an ongoing ice storm to at least 10, according to authorities.