.png)
3 teens killed in Indiana crash: The three teenagers killed in a crash at an intersection in rural Indiana were mourned on Thursday and Friday.
The small Indiana town of Versailles near where three teenagers were killed in a car crash was reeling on Friday, a day after the incident.
South Ripley High School, where the three teens attended, sent out grief counselors to help students and staff to deal with the deaths, reported WKRC in Cincinnati, which is located around 50 miles from the town.
Friends and family gathered at a local restaurant to light candles for mourning the deaths of the three students, 18-year-old Jacob Vogle, 18-year-old Timothy Bowman, and 18-year-old Samantha Hansen.
“These were great kids,” South Ripley Schools Supt. Rob Moorhead told WBIW in Indiana. “They were doing a great thing today participating in this community event.”
But he added that “it’s completely devastating to the people at the school,” reported The Associated Press.
In the incident, two trucks carrying six teenagers collided with one another at an intersection after they left a Future Farmers of America (FFA) event at a nearby church on Thursday.
At the memorial, Kayla Little, 17, said that Hanson “always had a smile on her face,” and added: “There was never a day that went by that you couldn’t just go up to her and talk to her about anything.”
Indiana Secretary of Agriculture Sue Ellsperman said in a statement that “may the close-knit nature of our agricultural families, and the bonds developed in FFA, provide strength and comfort during this difficult time,” according to Hoosier Ag Today. The State Department of Agriculture added that the “heartbreak is only compounded when the loss of life happens to those who are so young.”
In the town of around 2,000, Versailles has been hit with similar tragedies in recent years.
In the past 18 months, an 18-year-old woman died in a crash while she was texting on her cellular phone, a 15-year-old girl died in an ATV accident, and a teacher died in a plane crash, according to AP. And a 71-year-old man died of injuries sustained after a tornado hit the area last year.
“There has just been so much tragedy here,” Lori McNeelan, a nearby resident, told the news agency.
The Epoch Times publishes in 35 countries and in 21 languages. Subscribe to our e-newsletter.
