Horror US road crash leaves 9 children dead
- Eight children in a van from a youth home among dead in Alabama crash
- Crash on a wet interstate also killed a man and his baby in another vehicle
Nine children and an adult were killed in a fiery multi-vehicle crash on an Alabama highway as heavy storms lashed the southeastern US, authorities said Sunday.
Saturday’s crash on an interstate highway near the city of Greenville involved at least 15 vehicles and was “probably” caused by hydroplaning under torrential rains, Butler County coroner Wayne Garlock said.
Storm Claudette dumped up to 30cm of rain in the Gulf coast region Saturday. It was blamed for at least two other deaths.
The dead in the crash included a father and his nine-month-old daughter in an SUV, and eight occupants of a van – aged four to 17 – from a “girls ranch” for neglected and abused children, local media reported.
“This was probably the most horrific accident in Butler County history,” Sheriff Danny Bond told the al.com website.