A Georgia truck driver has been charged with multiple counts of vehicular homicide after allegedly causing a fiery highway crash that killed eight members of a family including five children.
Kane Hammock, 33, was arrested after his semi-trailer vehicle plowed into the family’s vehicle, causing them both to burst into flames, authorities said. The collision resulted in a “chain reaction” with four more vehicles smashing into the wreckage Monday at around 4 p.m. on northbound Interstate 85, about 60 miles northeast of Atlanta.
Eight occupants were found dead in the van, and one individual may have been pregnant, Jackson County Deputy Coroner Jeff Rogers said.
The deceased were identified by family members as Kenia Ramirez and Darwin Ventura along with their son, four-year-old Kayle Ramirez.
Kenia Ramirez’s mother, Sonia Maribel Ramirez, was also killed, along with four of her other children – Justin, Andy, Natali and Evan Ramirez. The kids who were between the ages of two and 16.
Darwin Ventura’s mother, Eva Velasquez-Benitez, said she learned of the horrific news when she woke up Tuesday, telling Atlanta News First that her son had been driving the family to go shopping at the time of the crash.
“It’s terrible. I don’t know how I’m going to be without Darwin, because it’s my only family, I only have two children,” Velasquez-Benitez told Atlanta News First. “I can’t believe it, I feel like I’m in a bad dream.”
Hammock has been charged with eight counts of second-degree vehicular homicide, second-degree vehicular feticide, following too closely, distracted driving and operating a vehicle without a current plate, all of which are misdemeanors, according to the Georgia Department of Public Safety.
In Georgia, second-degree vehicular homicide carries a maximum sentence of 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.
He was booked with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. He remained in jail Wednesday, with records listing “distracted driving” as one of his misdemeanor charges.
The Independent has contacted the Georgia Department of Public Safety for more information about Hammock, including his past record and employment status at the time of the incident.
An investigation revealed that Hammock’s semi-trailer was following too closely and struck the rear of a 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan. “This caused a chain reaction involving the van and four additional vehicles. After impact, the Dodge van became engulfed in flames along with the tractor-trailer,” public safety officials said in a statement.
One of the other vehicles involved in the crash was a van carrying dozens of cats to a rescue shelter. The van was crushed during the pile-up and the frightened animals spilled into the road.
Furkids Animal Rescue and Shelters was taking 37 cats to a shelter in Vermont, and some of the cats fled after the crash, CEO Samantha Shelton said. Two were still missing as of Tuesday, and one cat was hospitalized in critical care.
“In the chaos of the wreckage, cages were crushed, and cats began to flee,” the Georgia-based animal rescue group wrote on its Facebook page.
The van driver was left with bruises and cuts to his head but was released from hospital Tuesday morning, Shelton said. “We are so grateful to him – who even in crisis, stayed by our cats’ side and did all he could to help them,” she said.
