Grieving members of the Joy Fellowship Christian Assemblies gathered today; for Sunday Services their church  in the Bronx to mourn the loss of their Pastor and his wife, both residents of Port Chester, who were killed in a horrific van crash on the New York State Thruway Saturday afternoon along with four other church members. Eight others were injured, many of them critically.

The dead include the Church's Pastor, Bishop Simon White and his wife Zelda White of Port Chester. The injured are being treated at Westchester Medical Center, Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx and at Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern. Many are reported in critical condition.

Police say a tire blowout on the van carrying the 14 people to a Church event in Schenectady was to blame for the tragic crash. The van was traveling in the northbound direction in the Town of Woodbury when the blowout apparently  caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle around 3 p.m. Saturday and flip over several times before landing in the median. Many of the victims were ejected from the vehicle. Officials are still determining if victims were wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash.

Bishop Simon White established a number of churches including Joy Fellowship Christian Assemblies. He was also Senior Pastor of three affiliate churches including Upper Room United Christian Assemblies Inc. of Mount Vernon and The Living Word Church of God and Word of Life Christian Assemblies in Newburgh.

The church is planning to hold a vigil for those killed at 6 o'clock Monday evening.

He was married to Minister Zelda White and together have 8 children.