ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. (AP) -- Kentucky State Police say six Wisconsin residents were killed and two injured Saturday when their SUV burst into flames after being rear-ended by a tractor-trailer. The crash was swiftly followed by another in the opposite direction that injured three, one critically.
The initial crash at 11:13 a.m. EST Saturday occurred on northbound Interstate 65 south of Elizabethtown. Master Trooper Norman Chaffins says in the second crash, four vehicles collided at the same location but on the southbound side.
Police say all occupants of the SUV were from Marion, Wis. They were identified as James Gollnow, 62, and his wife Barbara, 62; Marion Champnise, 92; Sarina Gollnow, 18; Soledad Smith, 8; and Gabriel Zumiga, 10.
Police said the two children were foster children.
The two survivors were also foster children. Police identified them as Hope Hoth, 15, and Aidian Ejnik, 12.
