COMMERCE — At least three people were killed Monday in a single-vehicle accident on Interstate 85 about 65 miles northeast of Atlanta, authorities said.

At least eight others were injured, two critically, said Cpl. Scott Smith of the Georgia State Patrol. The victims were among 12 people riding in a 15-passenger van that was towing a trailer.

Three men were ejected immediately and died at the scene, Smith said.

Among those in the van were members of the heavy metal bands Wormreich of Huntsville, AL, and Khaotika of Atlanta, who were heading to Atlanta for a Monday night show after finishing a Sunday show in Spartanburg, SC. Members of another band scheduled for the same show, Fort Lauderdale-based Kult ov Azazel, said on their Facebook page that the Monday show was being canceled.

“The van carrying Wormreich and Khaotika was in a horrible accident this morning,” the post said. “We cannot go into details due to respect to the families of the involved.”

It was unclear whether members of both Wormreich and Khaotika were killed.

The van’s driver “apparently fell asleep and allowed the vehicle to leave the roadway, at which time the vehicle struck a tree on the passenger side,” Smith said.

The van apparently ran off the southbound lanes of I-85 about 7 a.m. ET, rolled down an embankment and sideswiped a tree near the Georgia 98 exit, a key route between the Carolinas and Georgia. The van’s driver was not injured.

The names of those involved have not been released, said Franka Young of the Georgia Department of Public Safety. Family members still are being notified.

Band members are from Georgia, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia, Smith said. The fatal wreck remains under investigation, and charges are pending.

USA Today