Five Killed in Illinois Thanksgiving Motor Vehicle Accident

Nov. 26, 2004
A van crossed a median and struck a car head-on, killing five people including a family of four headed to Texas for Thanksgiving.
MARION, Ill. (AP) -- A van crossed a median and struck a car head-on, killing five people including a family of four headed to Texas for Thanksgiving.

The crash occurred about 1:50 a.m. Thursday on Interstate 57 near Marion, in the southern part of the state. State police rerouted traffic for about five hours.

Chicago residents Candelario and Blanca Flores and their daughters, Monica, 9, and 6-year-old Elizabeth, were in the van, authorities said. The driver of the car was identified only as a 71-year-old Florida man.

A third vehicle rear-ended the Florida car after it was hit, officials said. Six people in that car were treated for minor injuries at the scene.

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