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Eight members of one family were among the eleven people killed in a horrific crash between a van and semi on I-65 in Hart County Friday morning.

Officials say the semi was traveling southbound at about 5:30 a.m. CDT near Munfordville, about 75 miles south of Louisville. The driver, an Alabama resident who had been traveling from Michigan, apparently fell asleep or had some sort of medical emergency, crossed the median and hit the van head-on. The driver of the semi, whose name has not been released, was also killed in the accident.

Pastor Leroy Kauffman said that the family members killed belonged to the Marrowbone Christian Brotherhood in Burkesville, about 55 miles southeast of the crash site. He said they were all members of a Mennonite family that was driving to Iowa to attend a wedding.

The adult family members killed were John Esh, his wife, Sadie, their three daughters, Rose, 40s, Anna, 30s and Rachel, 20s, and son Leroy, no age given. Also killed were Leroy Esh's wife, Naomi, no age given, and Joel Gingerich, 22, who was the fiancee of Rachel Esh. A family friend, Ashley Kramer, 22, was also killed.

Two children, Johnny, 5, and Josiah, 3, were in car seats at the back of the van and survived the crash with minor injuries. They were taken to a nearby hospital, where they were treated and released. A third child, Jaylen, who was born in January, was among those killed. All three children had been adopted from Guatemala by Leroy and Naomi Esh, and Jaylen had only been with the family for two weeks.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was dispatching a team to investigate the crash.

Kauffman said John Esh was an assistant pastor at the church, and that Joe Gingerich and Rachel Esh were planning a July wedding.

"They had a July wedding planned but they won't need that now," Kauffman said. "They'll have a wedding in heaven I guess."

Kauffman said the family's house burned down in December and they had just moved into a new home built by church members.

"We're experiencing a lot of heartache and a lot of sadness, but with that a hope," Kauffman said. "We know where these people are going, they were all saved Christians and walking with the Lord."

The crash is one of the most deadly traffic accidents in recent Kentucky history. On May 14, 1988, 27 people were killed in a fiery bus crash caused by a drunken driver going the wrong way on Interstate 71 in Carroll County. That bus was owned by the First Assembly of God church in Radcliff and was filled with youths returning from an amusement park.

Associated Press Wire Services Contributed To This Story.