The truck driver who crashed into a car filled with six teenage girls in Oklahoma, killing them all, was revealed Wednesday as Walendon Burton, 51, a bricklayer and loving grandfather who hit his car as it was making a U-turn in the countryside. highway.
Burton was also a volunteer firefighter and recently posted about the situation in Ukraine, adding that he was praying for a speedy resolution to the conflict.
The six high school students were traveling in a small four-seat car and only two teenage girls were wearing seat belts, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said Wednesday.
Burton was wearing a seat belt at the time and was uninjured in the crash. No charges have been filed yet.
A 2015 Chevy Spark and a semi-trailer collided around 12:19 p.m. Tuesday at the intersection of US 377 and Oklahoma 22 in Tishomingo, a rural town of about 3,000 located about 115 miles southeast of Oklahoma City.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said Wednesday that only the 16-year-old driver and passenger in the front seat of the Chevy Spark were wearing seat belts.
All six girls were Tishomingo Public School students and died in the crash, according to the county inspector. Three girls were 15 years old and two other passengers were 17 years old.
According to the OHP report, four girls, including the driver, died at the scene of the crash. Two other girls died after they were taken to the hospital.
Their names have not yet been released.
Soldiers said the girls’ car was traveling east on Oklahoma 22 and stopped at a stop sign at US 377 just before 12:30 p.m.
OHP Trooper Shelby Humphrey said Tuesday night that the girls attempted to turn around at an intersection mapped to be at the end of US 377’s east-south 90-degree turn.
The driver of the semi-trailer, identified by police on Wednesday as Walendon Burton, 51, was also wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. He was not hurt and no charges were brought against him.
The circumstances of Tuesday’s accident are still under investigation, but military personnel say it is believed the Chevy Spark tried to turn around and was hit by a semi-trailer that was approaching from the east on US 377.
The girls’ car was hit by a truck approaching from the east on US 377, according to KXII-TV.
According to KXII-TV, the force of the impact pushed the car about 300 feet away from the intersection, leaving it in a mess with its doors and doors blown off.
According to a crash report released by OHP on Wednesday morning, the crash is still under investigation.
The vehicle was wrecked in a collision that occurred around 12:30 p.m. in Tishomingo, about 100 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.
Tishomingo Public School superintendent Bobby Weightman confirmed the girls’ disappearance on Facebook, saying the district has “taken a big toll.”
“Our hearts are broken and we mourn with our students and staff,” Wightman wrote.
Family, friends and the community expressed their condolences on social media, while others inquired about additional details of the accident.
A 2015 Chevy Spark and a semi-trailer collided around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday at the intersection of US 377 and Oklahoma 22 in Johnston County.
KFOR footage from the crash site shows a Chevy Spark with what appears to be a pink steering wheel among the wreckage.
But some callous online commentators posted scathing messages on the victims’ social media accounts, criticizing them for not wearing their seat belts.
One user wrote: “Where was your seat belt?” and included a laughing crying emoji. The same account commented again, “Why didn’t you put on your seatbelt? It’s pretty hard to empathize with you along with a emoji covering your face with your hand. Another user wrote: “If you were wearing a seat belt, nothing would have happened.”
Their comments were met with backlash from loved ones of the victims and the community, who criticized them for making such comments at a heartbreaking time.
It is unclear if the commentators knew the victims.
The semi-trailer collided with a car carrying six teenage girls who died in the crash.
Crash site where six high school students died Tuesday in a collision with a truck
Tishomingo public schools closed early Tuesday morning due to bad weather but reopened on Wednesday to focus on the emotional well-being of students, Waitman said in a statement.
“We feel compelled to inform you that our district has suffered a major loss in high school today. Our hearts are broken and we mourn with our students and staff,” Wightman wrote.
He added that counselors would be available to students during the day and evening.
Footage of the horrific crash scene captured by KFOR shows a nearly destroyed black car with what appears to be a pink steering wheel amidst the wreckage.
The Johnston County Sheriff’s Office announced this on Tuesday afternoon.
“We are praying for each of the families involved and our community,” they wrote in a Facebook post. “This is an absolute tragedy that will have repercussions for a lifetime. This community and families need our support and prayers at this time.”
Tishomingo is the county seat of Johnston County with a population of just over 3,000.
Tishomingo Public Schools confirmed the loss of girls on social media, reaching out to parents and the community, saying the district has “suffered a great loss.”
The intersection connects US 377 and 22 in Tishomingo, Oklahoma.
Pictured is Tishomingo High School. The Tishomingo School District confirmed the girls’ deaths.