MIAMI – Nine children and an adult were killed in a fiery multi-vehicle crash on an Alabama highway as heavy storms lashed the southeast United States, said authorities yesterday.
The crash on Saturday on an interstate highway near the city of Greenville involved at least 15 cars, and was “probably” caused by hydroplaning during torrential rains, Butler County coroner Wayne Garlock told AFP.
Storm Claudette dumped up to 30cm of rain on the Gulf Coast region on Saturday. It has been blamed for at least two other deaths.
The dead in the crash comprised a father and his 9-month-old daughter in an SUV, and eight occupants of a van aged 4 to 17 from a “girls’ ranch” for neglected and abused children, reported local media.
“This is probably the most horrific accident in Butler county history,” sheriff Danny Bond told the al.com website.
He said at least two of the vehicles involved are 18-wheelers, and that four or five other people suffered non-fatal injuries.
The driver of the van was pulled out alive by a bystander, said witnesses.
The bystander then tried to help the children, but was prevented by a fierce fire engulfing the vehicle, said Garlock.
The van driver was identified as Candice Gully, director of the girls’ farm in Tallapoosa County, an official with the state ranch system told al.com.
The SUV driver was identified as Cody Fox, 29, an emergency management worker from Tennessee. His fiancee was injured in the wreck.
Garlock said the crash scene is in an area notorious for hydroplaning as Interstate 65 curves down a steep hill.
Northbound and southbound traffic on the busy highway was halted for hours by the accident, but both had reopened by yesterday, tweeted the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.
The Tallapoosa County Girls’ Ranch said it is providing grief counsellors for the children there.
The van in the accident was one of two bringing children back from a week-long beach outing to nearby Gulf Shores, reported al.com. The other van was unscathed.
Storm Claudette, later downgraded to a tropical depression, has dumped heavy rain across the southeast US.
The Tuscaloosa News said two people – a 24-year-old man and his 3-year-old son – died when a tree fell on their house.
Claudette is forecast to return to tropical storm status today over eastern North Carolina, before weakening again by tomorrow. – AFP, June 21, 2021
