**Seven Die in Devastating Multi-Vehicle Accident in North Carolina**

A tragic accident on a two-lane road in southeastern North Carolina claimed the lives of seven people who were all traveling in the same vehicle, the state Highway Patrol reported on Friday. The incident occurred around 6 p.m. on Thursday on N.C. Highway 711 near Pembroke, roughly 90 miles northwest of Wilmington.

According to the initial investigation, the vehicle with the seven passengers was traveling westbound when it crossed the center line, sideswiping another vehicle also heading west. The vehicle then continued forward, colliding head-on with an eastbound car before veering off the road and catching fire near the edge of a swamp. Tragically, three of the passengers in the vehicle were ejected, and all seven individuals were pronounced dead at the scene.

The identities of the passengers have not all been confirmed, and the name of the one identified victim has been withheld until the family is notified. Speed has been highlighted as a potential factor in the accident, but weather conditions do not appear to have contributed.

The driver of the eastbound vehicle involved in the collision was 25-year-old John Hinston Dial of Pembroke. He was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, though they are not considered life-threatening. The westbound vehicle that was sideswiped left the scene of the incident, but troopers do not believe that its driver played a role in the main collision.

Details regarding the type of vehicle carrying the seven passengers or whether it was overloaded remain unclear. This horrific crash comes merely a month after a similar tragic incident in Florida, where nine people lost their lives when an overloaded vehicle crashed and overturned into a canal. The NTSB has since opened an investigation into that incident.