Eight people were killed when two cars crashed into each other head-on on a two-lane highway in rural eastern Kansas. Among the dead were a high school student, a teacher-coach, and an Oklahoma school worker, officials said Monday.
The accident took place on U.S. 169 around 5:45 p.m. Sunday, just outside the small town of Greeley, which is 97 kilometres (60 miles) southwest of Kansas City, Missouri. One person got out of a wrecked car and was taken to the hospital.
The school district stated Monday that three of the people who were killed worked for Tulsa Public Schools.
Donald ‘DJ’ Laster, a student at Booker T. Washington High School, died in the crash. So did Wayne Walls, a former coach and teacher at Carver Middle School, and Ja’mon Gilstrap, a member of the Tulsa Public Schools transportation team.
Superintendent of Tulsa Public Schools Dr. Ebony Johnson said in a statement, “I am heartbroken for those who lost loved ones and committed to honouring the huge impact each of these people had in Tulsa and in the lives of our young people.” “I’m praying for their families and everyone involved. I hope that other people will continue to support our students, team members, and families who are hurting.”
A four-hour stretch of highway was stopped because of the accident, and Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Jodi Clary said that crews were still working at the scene of the accident Monday night. The crash’s cause was still being looked into.
Clary said, “Both cars burned up.”