7 in Family Die in New Orleans Highway Crash

Authorities Friday identified seven people who were killed when a tractor-trailer carrying Christmas trees slammed into a minivan and a car on a freeway Thanksgiving night.

The seven who died and six others who were injured were all relatives.

The accident happened about 11 p.m. Thursday on an elevated stretch of Interstate 10. The victims lived in the New Orleans suburb of Gretna and were returning from a Thanksgiving party.

The dead all were passengers in the minivan, which was crushed against a guard rail by the truck. One other person in the minivan was injured, as were all five people in the car. Four were hospitalized in guarded condition.

The people killed were identified as Xiomara Padilla, 37; Carlos Padilla Jr., 40; his wife, Miranda; their daughters Karrina, 17, and Melissa, 18; Gladys Padilla, 59; and her son Mauricio, 24.

The truck driver, whose identity was not disclosed, was not hurt. No charges were filed.

The car and the minivan behind it were going about 35 mph with their emergency lights blinking, because the car was having engine troubles, Raphael Padilla, who was driving the car, told WDSU-TV.

The road was dry at the time. Police spokesman Lt. Marlon Defillo said the minivan was following the car, which had its emergency blinkers on. The tractor-trailer hit the back of the minivan.

The accident took place not far from the site of a bus wreck on Interstate 610 that killed 22 people on their way to a Mississippi casino on Mother’s Day.