The Orlando Sentinel

OCALA, Fla. — A church van crashed Sunday night on Interstate 75, injuring a dozen people, one seriously, authorities said Monday.

Though most of the injuries were minor, firefighters with Ocala Fire-Rescue used the Jaws of Life to free a passenger whose leg was trapped between the vehicle and the ground, said Wendell Rora, the department's spokesman.

The injured passenger was flown to Shands Teaching Hospital in Gainesville.

The crash occurred at 9:35 p.m. in the northbound lanes of I-75 near Ocala in Marion County as the van was returning to Pensacola from a weekend church event in Fort Lauderdale. The highway was blocked for 45 minutes to accommodate a medical helicopter.

The other 11 people aboard the van were treated at two Ocala hospitals.

The Florida Highway Patrol was investigating the crash but did not specify Monday what caused the accident.

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