A truck driver has been charged following a fiery crash on Interstate 85 in Jackson County that resulted in the deaths of eight individuals, including five children. The Georgia State Patrol identified the driver as 33-year-old Kane Aaron Hammock, of Gainesville, who has been arrested and booked into the Jackson County Jail, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.
Hammock is facing multiple charges, including eight counts of homicide by vehicle in the second degree, distracted driving, and following too closely, among other misdemeanor offenses. On Monday, the tractor-trailer he was operating struck a van carrying a family from Gwinnett County, setting off a series of collisions with four additional vehicles. The crash happened near mile marker 147, not far from Commerce, Georgia, and approximately 62 miles northeast of Atlanta.
Atlanta News First reports that the family involved in the crash was identified by relatives as Kenia Ramirez and Darwin Ventura, alongside their child Kayle. Kenia Ramirez, pregnant at the time of the accident, Sonia Maribel Ramirez, and her children Justin, Andy, Natali, and Evan were also among the deceased. The ages of the children ranged from 2 to 16 years old…