BOWMAN, S.C. (AP)-- Authorities say a mother from Florida and her two young children have died after their car hit an alligator on Interstate 95 in South Carolina.

  • Victims were from Florida.
  • Alligator was crossing I-95 in South Carolina.
  • Car hit gator then a tree before catching fire.

Orangeburg County Chief Deputy Coroner Sean Fogle said 24-year-old Amber Stanley, her 4-year-old son Jack and 2-year-old daughter Autumn all died from burns after their car hit a tree and caught fire after hitting the alligator.

Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. Judd Jones says the alligator was crossing the northbound lanes of I-95 near the Interstate 26 exit when Stanley's Kia Soul hit the animal around 12:50 a.m. Monday.

Fogle says the family was from Callahan, Florida.