7 relatives killed in crash on Indiana highway

BRISTOL, Ind. (AP) — Seven people in a minivan full of relatives were killed when their vehicle hit a deer on an Indiana highway and slowed down or stopped just before a semitrailer slammed into them from behind, state police said today.

None of the minivan's 10 occupants were wearing seat belts when the crash happened Thursday night on the Indiana Toll Road about 10 miles east of South Bend, Indiana State Police Sgt. Trent Smith said. An infant who was in a car seat but not been buckled in was among those killed, he said.

The minivan had Illinois license plates, and police believe at least some of those on board were Ecuadoran immigrants living in the Chicago area, Smith said. The van was heading east, but authorities didn't immediately know where the group was headed.

Family members were coming about 100 miles from the Chicago area today to help identify the victims, he said.