Seven people were killed in a fiery crash between a van and a pickup truck on an eastern Idaho highway near Yellowstone National Park, officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Mercedes passenger van — which was operating as a tour vehicle — collided with the Dodge Ram pickup around 7:15 p.m. Thursday on U.S. Highway 20 near Henry’s Lake, the Idaho State Police said. The van was traveling eastbound, toward Yellowstone National Park, while the truck was traveling westbound, police said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fourteen people were in the van and one was in the pickup. Six people in the van — all foreign nationals — and the truck driver died in the crash, police said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The truck driver was identified by the Fremont County Coroner\u2019s Office as 25-year-old Isaih Moreno of Humble, Texas, police said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The names of the victims in the van will be released by the coroner once their families are notified, police said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Due to the complexity of the incident, the identification of all individuals involved and notification of their next of kin will take time,” Idaho State Police said in a statement Friday afternoon<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Local resident Roger Merrill said he was driving home when he came upon the crash site just a few minutes after the accident apparently occurred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It had appeared they had maybe hit head-on — catastrophic damage to both” vehicles, Merrill told ABC News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Good Samaritans had already come out to help. There were several other pickup trucks alongside the road that were assisting,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The fire did not start immediately — there was no fire present for probably 10 to 15 minutes after I arrived. And I observed what appeared to be steam coming from the pickup,” he said. “About that time, the first responder showed up, a member of the sheriff’s department. I could see they were trying to put the fire out under the truck with a fire extinguisher, but the flames quickly spread and engulfed both vehicles within minutes.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All occupants involved in the crash were transported to hospitals, including three flown by air ambulance. The others were transported by ground ambulance with likely non-life-threatening injuries, police said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two survivors have been hospitalized at Madison Memorial in stable condition; three others who suffered injuries were treated and released, according to a hospital official. Two patients were also taken to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, the hospital said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The cause remains under investigation, police said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Henry’s Lake is about 17 miles from West Yellowstone, Montana, which is a gateway to Yellowstone National Park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. Highway 20 closed for nearly seven hours after the crash and has since reopened, police said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n