HARVEY, La. -- Eyewitness News has now confirmed the identities the family members from Harvey who were involved in a fatal accident on I-10 Saturday.
The accident happened in Ascension Parish, when a tire blew on a mini-van that was carrying two adults and 13 children. Five people died, including 38-year-old Mona Hines, along with four children: 2-year-old Ricky Hines, Jr., 12-year-old Lachante Floyd, 14-year-old Edward Barnes and 14-year-old Ashley Hines. Another adult, 28-year-old Stacey Hines, and nine other children remain hospitalized in Baton Rouge.
For the Hines family of Harvey, the news that reached them on Saturday was nothing short of devastating. The father of Mona Hines, the driver, is still in shock.
"She was a beautiful child," Climmie Hines said.
Hines said Mona, along with her sister Stacey and the 13 children, left for Baton Rouge around 9 a.m. Saturday morning. He said they were all going up to help Mona and her family move from Baton Rouge to a new home in Waggaman.
"They were going up there to finish packing because she had rented a U-Haul truck," Climmie Hines said.
However, as they headed west on I-10 through Ascension Parish, a tire on the mini-van blew out. Investigators believe the driver may have overcorrected. The van rolled several times across the median and ended up in the eastbound lanes of the interstate.
"One minor mistake can be so-- you end up with tragic results, such as this one did," said Ascension Parish Sheriff Jeff Wiley.
All 13 of the children inside the van were ejected from the vehicle. Investigators said only the two adults were wearing seatbelts at the time of the accident.
"You never forget and it hurts bad," Climmie Hines said. "It's bad enough for one to go. But you have five go at one time-- that's really hurting."
Meanwhile, the family is pulling for Stacey and the nine other children, who are now recovering at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge.
"What can we say about it? We can't do nothing about it," Climmie Hines said. "They're just gone. Thank God for the ones who are living."
As of now, seven of the children involved in the accident are in critical condition. Two other children sustained moderate injuries. Investigators say those two children and Stacey Hines are now in stable condition at the hospital.
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