The truck driver at the center of a fiery Interstate 75 crash that killed him, another trucker and five children received several traffic tickets over the years.
Court records show 59-year-old Steve Holland of West Palm Beach was ticketed between 2000 and 2014 in Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Virginia for violations including speeding, driving an unsafe vehicle, driving an overloaded vehicle and not carrying proof of insurance.
Florida Highway Patrol said Friday that Holland was traveling north on I-75 near Gainesville on Thursday when he veered into another car, lost control and went through the center divider, striking a southbound church van from Louisiana and another truck. Five children from ages 9 to 14 in the van died.
Florida Highway Patrol identified the deceased Friday as:
- 14-year-old Joel Cloud
- 14-year-old Jeremiah Warren
- 9-year-old Cierra Bordelan
- 13-year-old Cara Descant
- 10-year-old Brieana Descant
- 59-year-old Steve Holland
- 49-year-old Douglas Bolkema, another semi-truck driver
FHP says the children may not have been wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash.
A friend of Warren's said he and the rest of the community in Louisiana are devastated.
"I didn't believe that it had happened," he said, "I cried a little bit."
Workers continued repairing the roadway Friday.
"We plan on working throughout the night," an official said. "Our goal is to get I-75 southbound reopened completely as soon as possible."
Seven more victims remain in serious condition. The pastor's wife is in critical condition with broken ribs and a broken collarbone. One injured woman from the van was reported by the church to be pregnant. Her pregnancy is still viable, the church said, and her unborn child is expected to be OK.
The Louisiana church has asked for prayers.
"Lord, I ask you to dispatch your healing angels and your healing powers," one woman said.