Deland, FL : Three children and woman killed in fiery crash on State Road 44 is shown upside down on Tuesday afternoon, April 5, 2016

A woman and three small children were killed Tuesday afternoon when their vehicle slammed into a sport utility vehicle west of DeLand and was engulfed by flames.

Troopers said the SUV cut into the path of a Jeep Wrangler on State Road 44 at Grand Avenue, an intersection Sheriff Ben Johnson called dangerous.

"Today is an absolute tragedy. We have multiple fatalities today," Johnson said. "It's just one of those things that hopefully somebody at this time will see they need to do something with this intersection."

Citing several crashes Johnson, who became emotional while addressing reporters near the crash scene, called for a traffic light because motorists crossing S.R. 44 do so with fast-moving traffic approaching. The number of crashes in that area were not available Tuesday.

Emergency workers scrambled to douse the flames after the 12:23 p.m. crash. A driver sitting at a stop sign when her car was also struck recalled the horrifying scene.

"It happened so fast," said Barbara Burch, 59, of Paisley, who was idle at Grand Avenue when she saw the SUV spin the Jeep around before it went on its roof and caught fire.

Burch was still shaken by the crash as she recounted it.

"I heard these babies cry before it came on fire," she said, pausing to catch her breath.

The Jeep Wrangler was headed east on S.R. 44 when a 2001 Ford SUV driven by Alan Seidel, 64, of DeLand was heading south on Grand. The SUV crossed the road into the Jeep's path, said Sgt. Kim Montes, Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman.

Seidel has three DUI arrests on his record, but the preliminary report states that alcohol was not a factor in Tuesday's wreck.

A woman answering Seidel's number identified herself as the driver's wife an said he did not want to talk about the crash.

The crash remains under investigation, and no charges have been filed as it is early in the investigation, Montes said. Neither Seidel nor Burch were injured.

The ages and names of the occupants were withheld pending an autopsy and the bodies were burned so badly that the gender of the children could not be determined at the scene, officials said. The children were in car seats.

The crash was emotional for all emergency workers involved. The fire appears to have come from the engine compartment as the fuel tank was intact, Montes said.

Source :
3 children in car seats, woman killed in fiery crash near DeLand