A serious car crash on a wet interstate in Alabama left 13 people dead, eight of whom children from a youth home for abused or abandoned children. It was billed as the most devastating blow from a tropical depression that has claimed 13 lives in Alabama as a result of flash floods and tornadoes that destroyed dozens of homes in the region.
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The multi-vehicle crash happened on Saturday about 35 miles south of Montgomery on Interstate 65 in Alabama after vehicles reportedly hydroplaned on wet roads.
A van containing children aged 4 to 17, was heading back to the ranch near Camp Hill, northeast of Montgomery, after a week at the beach in Gulf shores. The van, belonging to a youth home for abused or abandoned children, caught fire after the crash. The youth home’s director, Candice Gulley, was the sole survivor in that serious car crash. She sustained injuries after being pulled from the fiery flames by a bystander.
In another vehicle involved in that crash, two people – 29-year-old Cody Fox and his 9-month-old daughter, Ariana – were also killed in the crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board said in a tweet that it had sent 10 investigators to the crash scene on Sunday to start a probe into that deadly car crash.
Photos featuring the crash scene show that at least four other vehicles were burned, including two large trucks.
The NTSB said the inquiry would focus on any vehicle malfunctions, such as warning system failure.
The mishap came amid a tropical storm in that region, which has claimed at least 13 lives. It toppled trees, caused flash floods, and spurred tornadoes, which have already obliterated dozens of homes.
A 24-year-old man and a 3-year-old boy were killed on Saturday, thanks to a toppled tree. And a 23-year-old woman died after her car ran off the road into a swollen bayou on the same day.
The deaths came as torrential rain from Tropical Depression Claudette battered the area. Prior to the storm’s arrival, as much as 12 inches of rain was reported along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Georgians battened down the hatches early Sunday as flash flood and tropical storm warnings were in effect in that region.
North Carolina is no better off. The depression was expected to return to a tropical storm status later today over eastern North Carolina before heading out to the Atlantic Ocean.
The centre of the Claudette’s disorganised circulation was located about 100 kilometers northeast of Columbia in South Carolina. It is currently moving east-northeast at about 20 miles per hour.
While Americans living on the East Coast have begun sandbagging their homes and battening down the hatches, Claudette is expected to re-strengthen as it moves towards North Carolina and other U.S. states close by.
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