Six high school girls died after their car was totaled in crash with semi-truck.
A small Oklahoma town is reeling after six high school girls were killed in a horrific collision with a semi-truck, authorities said.
The students were in a tiny car with four seats, and only the driver and the passenger were wearing seat belts, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said Wednesday. The Chevy Spark was turning right from a stop sign when it collided with a Peterbilt rock hauling truck, the OHP said.
The horrendous impact slammed the subcompact vehicle 100 feet from the intersection.
“We don’t know the full nature or details of what caused the crash, only that the car at some point was at this stop sign and that in the following moments the semi hit them,” the OHP said. “When we got to the scene you could see the car about 100 feet or so from the intersection completely totaled.”
The roof and doors of the car were ripped away.
“We’re not sure how much of that was caused by the crash or by emergency responders but the scene was heartbreaking,” the highway patrol said.
Tishomingo Public School Superintendent Bobby Waitman said the district had sustained “a great loss," in a Facebook post following Tuesday's crash. “Our hearts are broken, and we are grieving with our students and staff,” Waitman said.
Gov. Kevin Stitt expressed his condolences to girls' families during a stop in Kingston to witness tornado damage.
“We just heard about the tragic loss of six teenagers, still getting details, going to be reaching out to the superintendent. Our hearts are broken with those six families. Just devastating news,” Stitt said.
The driver of the truck was not injured. He was identified as 51-year-old Valendon Burton of Burneyville, Oklahoma, the highway patrol said Wednesday. An investigation of the crash is ongoing, the department said.
The victims were the 16-year-old driver, three 15-year-olds and two 17-year-old passengers, the highway patrol said. Their names were not released because they were juveniles.
Tishomingo is a small rural town about 120 miles south of Oklahoma City. Classes were in session Wednesday at the high school, with administrators and counselors focused on the emotional well-being of students, the district superintendent said.
Meanwhile, the city of 3,000 mourns.
"Our prayers are with each of the families involved and our community. This is an absolute tragedy, which will have lifelong effects," the Johnston County Sheriff's Office said. "This community and families need our support and prayers at this time."
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