WASHINGTON, Jun 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Nine children and one adult were killed in an accident on Interstate 65, in Butler County, in the U.S. state of Alabama on Saturday.
According to Butler County Coroner, Wayne Garlock, eight of the children killed were aged between four and 17, travelling from the Tallapoosa County Girls Ranch, a local non-profit organisation that provides home for neglected or abused school-aged girls.
A 29-year-old father and his nine-month-old daughter, who were in another vehicle, were also killed, Garlock said.
The accident happened Saturday afternoon, during a storm that swept through Alabama, according to Garlock. A tropical depression, known as Tropical Storm Claudette, dumped heavy rain across the U.S. South-east on Saturday, after it made a landing in south-eastern Louisiana, early that morning.
In a statement, Michael Smith, the CEO of the Alabama Sheriffs Youth Ranches, the non-profit that manages the Tallapoosa County Girls Ranch, called the accident “a horrible tragedy and loss.”
In addition to those killed in the crash, a 24-year-old father and his three-year-old son, died in their home, when a falling tree struck the residence, Marty Sellers, of the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office told The Tuscaloosa News.
The tropical depression is now moving towards the Atlantic Coast and is predicted to re-strengthen.– NNN-AGENCIES
