Three recent high school graduates were among four people killed when their driver blew a stop sign while taking them home from a basketball game in Missouri, authorities said.
Recent Climax Springs graduates Ava Wolfe, Jayden Butterfield and Violet Corado were killed Friday night when their driver drove through a stop sign on US Highway 54, crashing with an SUV and then veering off the road into a fence and tree, The Kansas City Star reported.
The driver of the other vehicle also died in the crash, while the 49-year-old man driving the women was taken to a nearby hospital in serious condition. Neither were otherwise identified.
At least other people were hurt in the crash, which happened as the three friends had been heading home after an away game of their alma mater’s basketball team.
Wolfe and Butterfield were also “beloved employees of the District, who dedicated their time and talent to our students each day,” the Climax Springs School District said, without detailing exactly what jobs they had there.
“As students, all of these individuals left a legacy within our school,” the district added.
The women’s ages were 18, 19, and 21, according to the crash report.
The crash took place in the town of Walker, roughly 100 miles southeast of Kansas City and about 80 miles southwest of Climax Springs.
An unnamed 38-year-old passenger in the car with the young women was also seriously injured. Four passengers traveling in the SUV, ages 16, 16, 18, and 39, all survived.
The 39-year-old female passenger was reported in serious condition while the three younger passengers suffered injuries ranging from minor to moderate.
