FERRIDAY — Traffic on U.S. 84 was slowed to a halt Thursday afternoon after an automobile accident left one of the vehicles involved resting on its side.

The accident, between a maroon minivan and a blue BMW, occurred at the intersection of Seventh Street and U.S. 84, which inside the Ferriday town limits is Louisiana Avenue.

The occupants of the minivan were Ferriday residents Jeffery Lewis, 86, Cindy Lewis, 19, April Lewis, 18 and Leah Lewis, whose age was not made available.

The driver of the BMW was Josh Phillips, 24.

The wreck’s victims were transported to Riverland Medical Center, where they were treated for injuries of varying degrees.

“It appears the van ran the stop sign on Seventh Street,” Ferriday Police Chief Richard Madison said.

Wrecker crews rushed to clean the road, police allowed a few cars to squeeze past the accident site one at a time and crowds gathered along both sides of the highway to watch as the accident’s victims were loaded onto a stretcher and into an ambulance.

Ferriday resident Willie Henderson witnessed the crash.

“The van sat at the sign for a while, and then it shot out and the car hit it,” Henderson said. “It sure gave it a flip.”

Cindy Harper, whose business is located at the corner of Seventh Street and Louisiana Avenue, was on the phone at the time of the accident.

“I heard the wreck happen, and then I saw the van just spin,” Harper said. “I took off running because I was afraid it might catch on fire.”

After seeing the van flip, Harper said she was amazed the incident didn’t turn out worse than it did.

“It’s a miracle someone wasn’t killed,” she said.