ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. — The Florida Highway Patrol identified a West Palm Beach man as one of the 7 people killed in a fiery crash on I-75 near Gainesville on Thursday.
Five children heading to Disney World in a church van from Louisiana lost their lives, along with two truck drivers, FHP said.
The deceased have been identified as:
- 59-year-old Steve Holland from West Palm Beach
- 49-year-old Douglas Bolkema from Albuquerque, New Mexico
- 14-year-old Joel Cloud from Marksville, Louisiana
- 14-year-old Jeremiah Warren from Marksville, Louisiana
- 13-year-old Brieana Descant from Marksville, Louisiana
- 10-year-old Cara Descant from Marksville, Louisiana
- 9-year-old Cierra Bordelan from Marksville, Louisiana
The crash happened around 3:40 p.m. Thursday at mile marker 394 in Alachua County.
FHP said a semi truck, driven by Steve Holland from West Palm Beach, was going northbound on I-75, when it hit a Honda for an unknown reason.
Both vehicles traveled into the center median, slammed into the guardrail, and entered the southbound lanes of the Interstate.
Holland's semi struck a Chevy van carrying those children, causing the church van to flip over multiple times and ejecting an unknown number of occupants, according to FHP.
Troopers said Holland's semi then hit another semi truck, causing both vehicles and the Honda to burst into flames.
FHP said a fifth vehicle, a Chevy pickup truck, struck at least one person in the church van who had been ejected.
Five children, ages 9 to 14, in the church van died, along with both semi truck drivers, Steve Holland from West Palm Beach, and 49-year-old Douglas Bolkema.
During a news conference on Friday morning, Lt. Patrick Riordan said the church van was from the Avoyelles Parish in Louisiana.
Steve Holland, 59, was one of the 7 killed on I-75. He lived in West Palm Beach and his family tells me he was tremendously loved. https://t.co/zPAhqS9hTv pic.twitter.com/VNl9s8fhiY
— Miranda Christian (@MirandaWPTV) January 5, 2019
Holland’s niece, Jessica Scott, said he was terribly loved by his family. She said he was one of seven brothers and sisters and they are a very close family.
Scott said Holland moved to West Palm Beach about 20 years ago and had been driving trucks for about 10 years.
“He drove a lot, he was into cars, Uncle Steve loved cars and boxing. He was very soft-spoken, a huge teddy bear type of a guy,” said Scott.
Holland’s social media page says he worked for Eagle Express Lines. The Illinois based company posted on Facebook Friday:
#breakingnews #FHP confirms children are among the dead in horrific crash on I-75. 7 confirmed fatalities and at least 6 injured. Oews I-75 south will remain closed overnight and possibly into the morning. pic.twitter.com/BrfcGfySjk
— Michael Paluska (@MichaelPaluska) January 4, 2019
Following a tragic traffic crash Thursday, @MyFDOT anticipates conducting repairs, weather permitting, on I-75 in Alachua County. Two southbound travel lanes are open. Motorists should expect lane closures tonight for asphalt repairs. One southbound travel lane will remain open. pic.twitter.com/OQ3dXxWYFS
— FLHSMV (@FLHSMV) January 4, 2019
The fire was put out around 5:15 p.m. Thursday. Fire officials say that 50 gallons of diesel fuel spilled as a result of the crash.
The church's superintendent released the following statement:
Yesterday, January 3, 2019, a van load of people from our United Pentecostal Church in Marksville, Louisiana (pastor Eric Descant) were on their way to Orlando, Florida. For some unknown reason, a large tractor-trailer truck crossed the median of I-75 near Gainesville, Florida and crashed into the church van. Sister Karen Descant, the pastor’s wife, and two other adult ladies were on board the van. In addition, nine children were also on the van. Sadly, five of those children did not survive the accident. Pastor Descant was not with them, but is at the hospital there in Gainesville with those who survived. Sister Karen Descant has seven broken ribs, a broken collarbone, multiple bruises, cuts, etc. Pastor Descant’s words were, “She is pretty banged up. One of the ladies is pregnant and "pretty banged up", but doctors have been able to keep her and her unborn baby stabilized. The other lady is not as severely injured, but is still in the hospital. The four children all have injuries, but the medical staff feel that all of them will heal and recover. One of the five children who died in the accident, was the granddaughter of Pastor Descant. It is possible that many of you have already been made aware of the accident because it made national news. But, you may not have heard that it was our own people who were involved. Pastor Jimmy Toney (pastor in Gainsville) and his wife have been with our people almost the entire time since they were transported to the hospital. They and their church have been exceedingly kind in this horrific tragedy. Please pray for the healing of those physical injuries. And, perhaps even more so, pray for that church family that has been so massively affected by this tragedy. Please pray for the families who lost precious children, the other accident victims, all involved in the rescue efforts, and the church family. They will need our prayers in the coming weeks and months.
FHP said the crash remains under investigation.