In a 9-1-1 recording released yesterday, a driver and her passengers told a dispatcher that the fog and smoke from the 62-acre brush fire was so thick, they couldn't see.
"I think there was another accident behind us because I heard it," a woman said. "Oh my gosh, it's so dark here."
Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Patrick Riordan confirmed last night the names of four people who died in the crash: Pastor Jose Carmo Jr., Adriana Carmo, Leticia Carmo and Edson Carmo.
Jose and Adriana Carmo were married and Leticia was their daughter, said Arao Amazonas, senior pastor at their church, the Igreja Internacional de Restauracao, or International Church of the Restoration, of Marietta, Ga.
The couple's younger daughter, Lidiane, was injured in the crash, Amazonas said. A hospital spokeswoman said that she was listed in critical condition.
Amazonas had been at a religious conference in Florida with the family and many others since Thursday. He said he spoke with the pastor before the family left on Saturday night and urged him to wait until morning, he said. But Carmo told him he wanted to be back home in time for the Sunday-morning service.
The Carmos were in one van, and other church members were in a second van. The passengers of that van called Amazonas after the accident to tell him what happened, he said.
Riordan declined to release the names of the two troopers who made the decision to reopen the interstate or provide details on how long they had been with the patrol. He said no troopers have been disciplined, but the investigation into the crash continues.
"We went through the area. We made an assessment. We came to the conclusion that the road was safe to travel and that is when we opened the road up," Riordan said in a news conference. "Drivers have to recognize that the environment changes. They have to be prepared to make good judgments."
