Freeway crash kills 6 youths thrown from car in Tennessee

PLEASANT VIEW, Tenn. (AP) — A car crash killed six young people, including a 1-year-old infant, after they were ejected from their vehicle early Sunday on a freeway in middle Tennessee, authorities said. Two adults were injured, one of them critically.

Emergency crews found a car upside down with extensive damage when they responded at about 2 a.m. to the crash site in Robertson County, said Brent Dyer, chief of the county’s emergency management services office.

First responders found six females ranging in age from 1 to 18 who had been thrown from the car and could not be resuscitated, Dyer said in a news release.

A woman was hospitalized in critical condition after apparently being ejected from the car, officials said. A man suffered minor injuries, officials said,

A second vehicle whose driver was not hurt was found near the damaged car, officials said. Those who were killed and injured were not immediately identified. It was not immediately clear if they were related.

The crash took place on I-24 near Pleasant View and Springfield, and a section of the highway was closed for hours before reopening later Sunday. The Tennessee Highway Patrol is investigating the cause of the crash.

The county emergency management office is coordinating professional mental health and counseling services for crews that responded to the crash.

“Our office recognizes the incredible difficulty of this scene,” Dyer’s news release said.