State troopers have said that three Marine Corps recruits were killed in a multi-vehicle crash near Leavittsburg, Ohio.

The victims were on their way to Cleveland to take a military entrance exam when the car they were riding in was caught up in a pileup Wednesday in Warren Township.

The three were in the back seat of a Pontiac hit from behind by a semi-truck at an intersection outside Leavittsburg. The car, driven by Marine Sgt. Charles Keene, was then hit again by several other vehicles, the Youngstown (Ohio) Vindicator said.

Witness Scott Franklin of Newton Falls told the Warren (Ohio) Tribune Chronicle "I heard a screech out of nowhere then saw the semi plow into the back of the Marines' car."

Zachery Nolen, 19, Newton Falls; Joshua Sherbourne, 21, Southington; and Michael Theodore Jr., 19, Warren were identified as the three men who were killed by the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Keene and a front-seat passenger survived the crash and were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment along with other injured motorists.

Due to the accident, state Route 5 was closed for several hours.