Van packed with church members crashes, killing 4

OAK GROVE, La. – Authorities say a van full of church members heading home from a Bible class veered off a northeast Louisiana highway and hit a culvert, killing two adults and two children.

Seven others were sent to the hospital, including two with life-threatening injuries.

Louisiana State Police Trooper Mark Dennis says the van crashed Wednesday night on Louisiana Highway 587 in West Carroll Parish.

Fifty-three-year-old Portia Thornton died at the scene along with two of her daughters: 19-year-old Kaitlyn Thornton and 12-year-old Brittany Thornton. Four-year-old Emma Adams also was killed.

Kenneth Green, chief deputy of the West Carroll Parish Sheriff's Department, says the van belonged to the New Zion Baptist Church. He described it as a small country church, where the crash victims had been attending Bible school.