330PM LRN News

Five Louisiana children from the Marskville area on their way to Disney World are among the seven dead in a fiery crash on Interstate 75 in north Florida on Thursday.

The five vehicle wreck started when a big rig and passenger car heading north collided, and then smashed through the guardrails and into the southbound lane, where the van carrying the children was driving, ejecting many of the victims from the van. Witnesses say when two semi-trucks collided an explosion occurred, and afterwards a truck sped through the fiery wreckage, striking the ejected passengers.

Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Patrick Riordan says the investigation will include homicide detectives…

Cut 5 (12) “…transpired.”

The passenger van was from the Avoyelles House of Mercy, and 12 total people are thought to have been riding in it.

The St. Landry’s Veterans Memorial in Opelousas has been defaced by vandals and investigators are looking for the culprits. Since the project’s completion, a wall was erected to include the names of parish combatants who died in battle and the names of their family members. Pat Mason-Guillory says a walkway containing 3300 bricks commemorates vets from the parish who served actively from World War I up to current conflicts.

Cut 7 (11) “…those who served.”

The vandalism featured racial slurs.

There’s a change of the guard in the House of Representatives as Democrats have taken over, and that likely means a big shift in legislative priorities for the lower chamber. Republican Congressman Clay Higgins says he’s concerned about the new direction.

Cut 13 (8) “…the Preisdent.”