Eight Killed In Church Van Crash

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FT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) - Eight people were killed when a church van crashed into a canal.

Members of the Independent Haitian Assembly of God Church in Fort Pierce held a candle light vigil and prayer service to remember those who died.   8 people died in the crash, four others are in the hospital.

The accident on State Road 78 happened around 12:30 a.m. in Moore Haven, just southwest of Lake Okeechobee.

The van, with 18 people onboard, was heading from Ft. Myers to Ft. Pierce when it's believed the driver missed a stop sign and plunged into the canal, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

"Once they seen they were proceeding into the ditch, everyone went to screaming," said Nozaire Norie who survived the crash.

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With the help of a translator, he described what happened. He said they left the revival in Ft. Myers and were singing just moments before the crash.

"As they were approaching (U.S.) 27, that's when the brakes failed and once the brakes failed that's when the vehcile proceeded straight into the ditch." said Norie.

Nicolas Alexis was sitting in the back of the van when it went into the shallow canal. He said he flew to the front, with other passengers piled on top of him.

"I have four people fell in my shoulder," recalled Alexis.

He kicked out a window, injuring his leg. He made it to the road, desperately looking for help.

"I call for help. I have a lot of people passing by me. I keep raise my hand say, "Help! I need help! I need help! I need help!" and nobody could help me," said Alexis.

Alexis said he fell to the ground and nearly passed out because he lost a lot of blood. Finally, someone stopped.

"I see one car stop and he say 'What happened to you?' I say 'I have a van in the water, I have 17 people in here and I was in there too'," said Alexis.

Help arrived and began to pull people out of the van.

The driver and seven passengers were killed. Ten others, including a child, were taken to area hospitals.

One part of the Florida Highway Patrol's investigation into the crash will be to determine if the van was equipped to carry 18 people.

"We'll determine how many seats were in the van and how many people could be safely seated inside the van appropriately," said Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Greg Bueno.

"We lost a lot of family members, family, all we can do is just pray to God, pray for us to see what's going on because it's very sad for us, just a lot of people just passed away," said Phillipe Dooce who had a relative on the bus.

The van belongs to The Independent Haitian Assembly of God. Dooce said they are all relying on their faith during this difficult time.

"Yesterday we had a good service at the church, today to see what happened, we know God has control and we can't blame God, we got to say 'Thank You God'. I mean he knows what he's doing, that's happened and this moment, that's God's will, God's plan," said Dooce.