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Wrong-way car crash on Georgia highway leaves 7 dead

(CNN) An SUV crossed the median of a Georgia highway and crashed into a van going the opposite direction, killing seven people and injuring three children, authorities said.

The Georgia State Patrol said a Ford Excursion traveling north on Interstate 85 on Saturday afternoon entered the southbound lanes for unknown reasons. The Excursion struck a Chevrolet van traveling south in the left lane.

That impact caused the Chevrolet van to strike a Ford E350 van in the right lane, authorities said. Two more vehicles also received minor damage from debris.

Two adults and four children from Paulding County, Georgia, were in the Ford Excursion, Franklin County Coroner Scott O'Barr said. Chris Years, 33, Ashley Years, 34, and Luna Years, 3, died in the crash. O'Barr said. Three children were also injured, including one who is in critical condition, authorities said.

One of the victims in the crash was a three-year-old child, authorities said.

Four adult Hispanic men from Gainesville, Georgia, in the Chevrolet van were all confirmed dead at the scene, authorities said.

O'Barr identified the men as: Alejandro Agis Perez, 53; Noe Gutierrez Cerna, 39; Oswaldo F. Hi Navarrete, 25, and Eugenio Santoyo Serna, 36.

No one in the Ford E350 van was injured.

Authorities are not releasing victims' names yet.

The crash took place in Franklin County in northeast Georgia.

CNN's Amir Vera and Hollie Silverman contributed to this report.
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