A minivan that held two families, including four children, collided with a tractor-trailer in upstate New York. Seven of eight people in the vehicle are dead. The accident occurred after the trailer, which was hauling cars, broke away from the truck.

The rig was headed south, and the trailer became disconnected from the cab before crossing the centerline and slamming into the minivan. The crash occurred at about 6 P.M. on a rural two-lane highway on Route 13, about 25 miles south of Syracuse.

The seven victims were four children under ten and three adults in their early 20s.

Cortland County Coroner Whitney Meeker told The Associated Press that all seven victims were local residents. The children were from two different families, including one from Truxton, Meeker told press; the other family lived in a nearby town. The victims' names have not yet been released.

The two people in the truck were not injured.

An injured man - the sole survivor of the minivan - was taken to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse; his condition is unknown.

Capt. Mark Helms from the Cortland County Sheriff's Department told reporters that the force of the impact ripped the minivan apart, then both vehicles skidded to a rest on the highway's shoulder. "It was a bad accident," Helms said.