Seven people killed when van overturns

Four-year-old listed in

serious condition.

"We don't know if she swerved or overcorrected or what."

--- Sean Donahue,

sheriff's deputy

By CHRISTINE HANLEY

The Associated Press

ATASCADERO, Calif. --- A rental van packed with church members heading to a religious conference overturned on a coastal highway, killing seven women and scattering Bibles and hymnals across the pavement.

Fourteen members of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ Church in Los Angeles were in the van when it apparently skidded and tumbled Thursday night.

The cause of the accident was under investigation.

"We don't know if she swerved or overcorrected or what," Sheriff's Detective Sean Donahue said. He said deer and other wildlife frequently cross that stretch of highway and the driver may have tried to avoid hitting an animal.

Five women thrown from the van were killed. The driver, Julieta Razon, 49, and another woman inside also died. Two adults were listed in critical condition. A 4-year-old girl was in serious condition.

The crumpled van landed on its side in a 10-foot-deep ditch. Rescue workers had to prop it up with boards to reach the people trapped in the wreckage.

Besides the Bibles and religious books, purses, backpacks and scores of plastic utensils littered the ground around the van.

Investigators said only a few of the passengers were wearing seatbelts.

The group was heading to San Francisco, where the founder of their church, Apollo C. Quiboloy, was scheduled to speak Friday evening.

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