Relatives and friends mourn the loss of 6 Oklahoma girls killed in accident
Devastated relatives and friends mourn the loss of six teenage girls killed in a truck accident in a small Oklahoma town as they struggle to process why the young women were “kidnapped” too early.
The teens – identified by friends and family as Gracie Machado, Brooklyn Triplett, Austin Holt, Madison Robertson, Addison Gratz and Memory Wilson – were packed into a four-seater 2015 Chevrolet Spark when the small car collided with a tractor-trailer in Tishomingo on Tuesday.
“I can’t even begin to express the heartbreak that I know many families are feeling right now,” Madison Roberton’s aunt, Falesha Roberts, wrote on Facebook Tuesday.
Falesha shared several photos of her niece, calling her an “irreplaceable gift from God.”
“I will forever be grateful to have seen your smile, known your kindness and to call you my niece, Madison Patience Michelle Robertson! Your beautiful soul stays with us all as you inherited your wings today!!” she wrote.
Oklahoma resident Natalie Houston asked for prayers for Austin Holt’s younger sister, Joy.
“She’s having a hard time and feels like a joke. I don’t know why these tragic things are happening,” she wrote on Facebook.
Houston said Austin is a “great big sister” and that Joy will “never forget” her.
“She was a gorgeous, intelligent young lady [too] soon for reasons unknown to me!” Her post continued.
Sadie Machado, Gracie’s sister, posted a photo of the two hugging in happier times, along with a heartbroken emoji.
“My best friend,” Machado wrote in the post.
An online fundraiser started by a family friend to remember another victim, Brooklyn Triplett, had raised about $1,500 as of Thursday.
“Brooklyn was an amazing child, she loved her family and friends with all her heart,” the fundraiser reads. “She was a loyal friend and a damn good ball player! She will be greatly missed by our family.”
Brooklyn, an avid softball player, was also a cheerleader for a team in Davis, according to the fundraiser.
Tishomingo residents, meanwhile, paid tribute to the girls with a growing memorial at the crash site, KOKI reported. Her former high school also left bouquets of flowers with her name on her doorstep, the station reported.
The small town of around 3,000 is also adorned with many “Tishomingo Strong” signs and the girl’s funeral has already been paid for after a local bank started a fundraiser, KOKI reported.
Country music star Blake Shelton, an Oklahoma native who has a home outside of Tishimingo, said in a statement Wednesday he was still in shock after the “unthinkable” tragedy.
“I personally know the devastation of suddenly losing a loved one in a car accident,” Shelton told KOKI. “But our community is strong and has come together to support the families and friends who are most hurt and to put our arms around them. There is no question that this tragedy will take a long time to heal. Let the prayers come.”
https://nypost.com/2022/03/24/relatives-friends-mourn-6-oklahoma-girls-killed-in-crash/ Relatives and friends mourn the loss of 6 Oklahoma girls killed in accident
