Police Say 5 Killed in Fiery Crash Were on Their Way to Church
Five victims including an unborn baby who perished as a result of a fiery crash in Prince George's County, Maryland, on Sunday, were on their way to church, according to local police.
According to a report from the Prince George's County Police Department, shortly before 5 p.m. Sunday patrol officers were called to the 2100 block of Chillum Road about the crash involving a pickup truck and a van from a church in Riverdale. The van was carrying 16 people. The driver of the pickup truck and three occupants of the van were pronounced dead on the scene. A pregnant woman in the van who suffered serious injuries had to have emergency surgery and her baby died.
On Tuesday, police revealed the identities of the three victims from the van: Staily Gomez, 6, of Piney Branch Road in Northwest Washington; Santiago Merche, 75, and his wife, Elba, 72, of Ingram Street in Northwest Washington.
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Investigators have not yet identified the pickup truck driver who was also killed in the crash.
According to ABC News, the van belonged to Iglesia Ministerio de Dios Unido, a small, Evangelical congregation in Hyattsville pastored by Jose Santos Jimenez.
Santos said through a Spanish language translator that he rushed to the hospital after getting word of the crash and he spent most of Sunday night and all of Monday visiting with the injured members of his congregation. He said the married couple killed were natives of El Salvador.
Police say the pickup truck had been involved in a hit-and-run crash with a car in the westbound lanes of Chillum Road. The truck's driver, however, didn't stop and instead fled the crash scene.
Moments later he lost control of the truck, crossed the double yellow line and struck the church van which had been heading eastbound on Chillum Road. After colliding with the van, the truck burst into flames. The driver of the rear-ended car suffered minor injuries.
Anyone with information about this collision is being asked to call the Prince George's County Police Department's Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Unit at 301-731-4422. Callers wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Solvers at1-866-411-TIPS, text "PGPD plus your message" to CRIMES (274637) or go to www.pgcrimesolvers.com.
