Six high school students in Oklahoma died in a crash with a semi-truck Tuesday, leaving their community shocked and in mourning.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol confirmed to KFOR that six girls, all of whom were students at Tishomingo High School, were killed in the collision at the intersection of Oklahoma State Highway 22 and U.S. 377 in the early afternoon.
“Troopers said a semi truck was headed south on US-377 and a car was headed east on OK-22, when the car stopped at a stop sign, attempted to make a U-turn, and was hit by a semi,” KXII-TV reported.
The OHP said in a report Wednesday the girls were inside a 2015 Chevy Spark, which only had four seats, and only the 16-year-old driver and front-seat passenger wore seatbelts, the Associated Press noted. The occupants included three fifteen-year-olds, the sixteen-year-old driver, and two seventeen-year-olds. Their names are being withheld as they were minors, the AP said.
In this image provided by KFOR-TV, a heavily damaged vehicle is seen off a road in Tishomingo, Okla., following a two-vehicle collision in which six teenage students were killed, Tuesday, March 22, 2022. (NewsNation KFOR via AP)
In this photo posted on Facebook provided by the Johnston County Oklahoma Sheriff’s Office is the scene of a deadly two-vehicle collision on Tuesday, March 22, 2022, in Tishomingo, Okla. (Johnston County Oklahoma Sheriff’s Office via AP)
The semi-truck driver, 51-year-old Valendon Burton of Burneyville, OK, was not injured, according to Wednesday’s report.
Images of the Chevy Spark, taken by KFOR, show its roof and doors were missing, though a CHP official said authorities were unsure “how much of that was caused by the crash or by emergency responders.”
“The scene was heartbreaking,” the official noted.
Tishomingo Public School District Superintendent Bobby Waitman released a letter to parents and the community, which was shared on Facebook:
We feel it is imperative that we inform you that our District has suffered a great loss today involving high school students. Our hearts are broken, and we are grieving with our students and staff. We have counselors available to students presently. We also have space prepared at Tishomingo High School with counselors available through the evening.
❤️🖤
Posted by Tishomingo High School on Tuesday, March 22, 2022
“Schools will be in session tomorrow at each campus, but our focus will be the emotional well-being of our students,” Waitman added.
“We’re just praying for strength, praying for grace and for our students and their families,” he told The Oklahoman.
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