14 DAY TRIAL // Three students from Ripley County, Indiana have been killed in an automobile collision on Thursday, March 7.
WLKY reports that two vehicles crashed after running a stop sign in a four-way intersection at around 10 a.m. Two pick-up trucks collided, each carrying 3 teenagers, and the incident resulted in the death of one driver and two passengers.
Drivers of a Ford F250 and a Dodge Ram 3500 ran the stop sign, and one vehicle smashed into the other's side door.
17-year-old Timothy Bowman driving the Ford F250 and his passenger, 18-year-old Jacob Vogel lost their lives, as did 18-year-old Samantha Hanson, sitting in the Dodge.
The other two passengers and 17-year-old Dodge driver Thomas Crawford have also been injured. Crawford has been hospitalized with chest injuries at University Hospital in Cincinnati, while 15-year-old Kayla Adkinson and 15-year-old Caleb Cumberworth's minor wounds have been treated in Batesville.
WTHR details that the accident occurred on a rural road, at the intersection of CR 850 West and Fairgrounds Road.
The students had just left a Future Farmers of America event and were returning to school at South Ripley High School in Versailles.
"It's completely devastating to the people at the school. These were great kids. [...] These were truly wonderful kids and it's a deep loss for the whole school community and the South Ripley community as a whole.
"This community has been though a lot of grief and we are in need of prayers," describes Superintendent Robert Moorhead.
State Secretary of Agriculture, Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann also issued a statement sending condolences to the families of the teens.
"On behalf of the agricultural community of Indiana, we join with the families and friends in Ripley County in mourning the tragic loss of three young lives.
"May the close-knit nature of our agricultural families, and the bonds developed in FFA, provide strength and comfort during this difficult time," it reads.