Three young girls were killed Saturday when the van they were riding was hit from behind by a semi on the Kansas Turnpike in Topeka. The crash was reported shortly after 9 a.m.
The Kansas Highway Patrol said a 2019 Dodge van was going south on the Turnpike when it tried to turn through a barrier wall, and it was hit from behind by a semi.
The crash killed 9-year-old Laila El Azari, 9-year-old Kylie Lund, and 8-year-old Brooklyn Peery, all from Topeka. Another 9-year-old girl was believed to have a minor injury and a 5-year-old boy was taken to a hospital with serious injuries. The 32-year-old Topeka woman who was driving the van was also taken to a hospital with injuries. The driver of the semi, a 70-year-old man from Huntsville, Alabama, was not injured.
The girls who were killed were students in the Auburn-Washburn School District, USD 437. They were students at Farley Elementary and Jay Shideler Elementary schools.
