5 dead after pick-up truck crashes into minivan

updated 8:26 a.m. ET Dec. 31, 2007

TOLEDO, Ohio - A head-on collision between a pickup truck going the wrong way on an interstate and a minivan killed five people in the minivan, including an infant, a fire department spokesman said Monday.

The accident occurred late Sunday night when the minivan, traveling in the southbound lanes on Interstate 280 near the I-75 interchange, collided with the truck, going north in the southbound lanes, assistant fire chief Luis Santiago said.

It was not clear why the truck was going the wrong way.

Bits of gift wrap and toys were strewn about the highway, suggesting the minivan was carrying a family heading home from the holidays, Santiago said.

"It was among the worst I've seen," he said of the crash scene.

The infant killed in the crash was about 6 months old, Santiago said. The others killed, a woman and three children, were pronounced dead at the scene, he said.

A man and two other children from the minivan were taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, Santiago said. The driver of the pickup also was taken to a hospital, but his injuries did not appear to be as serious, he said.

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