Semi-trailer crashes into a van on a Georgia highway, killing 7

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JACKSON COUNTY, Georgia (AP) — Seven people were killed in a fiery crash on a highway in Georgia on Monday afternoon when a semi-trailer struck a van and it burst into flames, according to law enforcement.

The semi-trailer was following too close to the Dodge van on Interstate 85 in Jackson County, about 62 miles (100 kilometers) northeast of Atlanta, when the crash happened, Franka Young, a spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Public Safety, said in an email. Seven people in the van died at the scene.

Four other vehicles also crashed in what officials described as a “chain reaction” after the initial collision.

The identities of the people killed have not be released.

The crash is being investigated by the Georgia State Patrol's Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team, according to Young.