6 young girls dead after being ejected from car in crash on Tennessee highway

A car crash on Interstate 24 in Tennessee killed six young girls and injured two other people, officials said.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, emergency personnel responded to a car accident on I-24 West near mile marker 23 that resulted in a car being flipped upside down, causing “very extensive damage,” Robertson County Emergency Medical Services said in a statement. 

Emergency personnel pronounced six girls dead at the scene. The girls were all found outside of the flipped vehicle after apparently being ejected in the accident, officials said. They “appeared to have ranged from 1-18 yrs of age,” RCEMS said.

An adult woman who investigators also believe was ejected from the car was found in critical condition. She was treated at the scene before being air-lifted to a local hospital, officials said. 

The driver of the car, and adult male, was in stable condition with minor injuries, officials said. He was taken to a local hospital by ambulance, RCEMS said.

Emergency personnel also responded to the driver of another car located near the overturned car. RCEMS said he, “had no complaints of injury and was ambulatory on scene.”

Officials have not identified any of the victims and it was not immediately clear if any of them were related. The cause of the crash has not been released. The Tennessee Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.

“Our office recognizes the incredible difficulty of this scene,” RCEMS said. “Please keep the families and persons involved in your thoughts and prayers.”