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Remembering the victims 5 years after deadly I-40 church bus crash

On Oct. 2, 2013, the left front tire of the bus failed while it was traveling on I-40 in Jefferson County. The bus crossed the median, hit the truck and SUV, and then caught on fire, according to Tennessee Highway Patrol.

It's been five years since eight people were killed when a North Carolina church bus carrying members of a senior adult group crashed on their way home from a Christian conference in Gatlinburg.

On Oct. 2, 2013, the left front tire of the bus failed while it was traveling on I-40 in Jefferson County. The bus crossed the median, hit the truck and SUV, and then caught on fire, according to Tennessee Highway Patrol.

RELATED (4/28/14): THP blames deadly I-40 crash on church bus tire failure

Six church members on the bus were killed. They were part of Front Street's Young at Heart group for senior citizens ranging in age from 62 to 95.

Two other people died when the bus struck a sport-utility vehicle and a tractor-trailer.

Those killed on the bus include Cloyce Matheny, John Wright, Brenda Smith, Marsha Mclelland, Barbara Morrison and her husband who was also the bus driver Randy Morrison.

The tractor-trailer driver struck by the bus, Mose Farmer, was killed. Trent Roberts, a rear-seat passenger in the Chevrolet Tahoe SUV, was also killed. Another passenger and the driver of the SUV were injured. They are all from Knoxville.

In September 2014, a dozen survivors of the crash and family members of five of those killed filed a lawsuit against the makers of the tire that caused the crash, and the driver. It was filed in Iredell County, North Carolina.

RELATED (9/8/14): Lawsuit filed in 2013 fatal church bus crash

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