By Katherine Itoh -
NBC News
Eight people were killed and one injured Friday after a pickup truck collided with a minivan transporting farmworkers to work, the California Highway Patrol said.
“For unknown reasons,” an “elderly” driver in a Chevrolet Silverado
swerved into the oncoming lane
and crashed into a GMC Safari in Madera County around 6:15 a.m. ET, according to spokesperson of the agency, officer Javier Ruvalcaba.
A pickup truck and a van collided head-on in Madera County Friday morning.KSEE
The drivers of both vehicles and six passengers in the GMC were killed, authorities said in a statement.
They added that one of the people was thrown into the air and another was partially thrown out of one of the cars.
The person who was injured in the collision was taken to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno, Ruvalcaba added.
His condition was not immediately available Friday afternoon.
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The names and ages of the victims were not revealed, but Ruvalcaba indicated that “all those involved are adult men.”
A pickup truck and a van
collided head-on
in Madera County Friday morning.
The GMC was transporting a total of eight people.
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“With the exception of the driver and the front passenger of the gray van, the occupants were not wearing seat belts,” Ruvalcaba said.