Four church members died when a large pickup truck rear-ended a church van turning into a church parking lot Tuesday evening.
Eight others were injured.
According to ABC News, a Ford F-450 truck slammed into the van as it slowed down to turn into the parking lot of Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Dinwiddie, Virginia. The van belonged to Shiloh Baptist Church in Blackstone, Virginia.
“The impact of the crash caused the van to overturn several times before it finally came to rest on its side off the right side of Route 460,” the department said in a statement. “Meanwhile, the truck ran off the left side of Route 460 and struck the guardrail.”
Michael Somerville, a Shiloh Baptist Church deacon, says his wife, Wartena, was one of the victims.
“In disbelief right now, in disbelief, but I know the Lord, and she knew the Lord, and we know that God knows best, and we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. And we just continue to pray for the families who lost loved ones,” Somerville says.
The couple married three years ago; their baby is 9 months old.
Somerville says the van was on its way to a revival at Mt. Zion.
Several people shared their prayers for the victims’ families on social media.
