Six people, including five children, were killed and one woman was injured in a vehicle accident on Interstate 24 in Tennessee on Sunday.
Just before 2am, Robertson County Emergency Medical Services said they responded to a report of an accident west of exit 24 for Springfield / Ashland City.
Upon arrival, emergency units found nine people and two vehicles involved in the wreck. One man driving a pickup truck was reportedly not injured.
However, the other vehicle, described as a red Toyota Camry, according to The Tennessean, was found “upside down with very extensive damage” with seven of its eight passengers ejected from it.
Four Advanced Life Support ambulances and one air ambulance responded to the scene.
According to Robertson County EMS, an adult male who was in the Toyota Camry was “stable with what appeared to be minor injuries at the time” though he was still transported to Skyline Trauama Center in Nashville.
Of the ejected passengers, one adult female was found outside the vehicle in “critical condition” and six others, all females ranging in age from 1 to 18 years old, were pronounced deceased “with injuries that could be no resuscitated.”
The adult female in critical condition was to LifeFlighted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.
According to Brent Dyer, Robertson County EMS Director, the eight passengers in the red Toyota Camry flipped after it collided with another vehicle. It is unclear if the other vehicle involved was the pickup truck.
Speaking with local news station WSMV4, Mr Dyer said, “From what we simply saw, it was a very severe rollover-associated type crash, and it appeared that multiple patients were ejected.”
Hours after the accident, the interstate was closed between exits 19 and 24 but had fully re-opened by mid-day on Sunday.
The crash is being investigated by the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
Mr Dyer called the scene shocking saying it is “one of the hardest things we’ll ever do, as anybody in emergency services, is to realise that you can’t do something for a child.”
There has been no official statement explaining how the seven passengers were ejected from the vehicle, but Mr Dyer gave a general warning to parents in a statement to WSMV4.
“I beg people to put your children in the proper restraint devices, and I beg everyone driving on the road to think about the outcome of the impatience and the outcome of intolerance,” Mr Dyer said.
In a statement on Facebook, Robertson County EMS said they have established “further coordination to involve professional mental health and counseling services for responders.”
“Our leadership team will work closely with everyone involved in coming days to ensure those who are interested have access to these important resources. Please keep the families and persons involved in your thoughts and prayers,” Robertson County EMS added.
