Two teenagers were killed and a third hospitalized in a car crash over the weekend as authorities pursued a man suspected of kidnapping a baby.
Early Sunday morning, authorities in Iowa received a report from a woman who said a male acquittal left with her 1-year-old child in a Kia Sorento, according to a news release from the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office. The woman, who was not identified, said she was a victim of domestic violence and that the man drove her out of Nebraska but left her in a hospital in Hamburg, Iowa.
She told authorities the “man was suicidal and homicidal,” according to the sheriff’s office.
Fremont County deputies and troopers from the Iowa State Patrol pursued the Kia in a chase that crossed the border into Missouri, the sheriff’s office said.
The suspect driving the Kia began driving the wrong way “at a high rate of speed” in a northbound lane and eventually collided with a 2013 Ford Focus, the sheriff’s office said. The Kia went up in flames, but emergency services were able to save the 1-year-old.
According to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, three 18-year-olds were in the Ford Focus. Two of them, a boy and a girl, were killed in the accident and were pronounced dead on the spot.
The third person, a passenger, had “serious” injuries, according to the report.
The suspect driving the Kia was killed in the crash, according to the accident report.
Neither Fremont County nor the Missouri State Highway Patrol have identified the crash victims. The teens were identified by NBC News affiliate KSHB as twin sisters Aubrey and Lucy Yeates, along with their friend Kole Cunningham, all from Kearney, Missouri.
Lucy and Kole both died in the accident while Aubrey was recovering in a hospital, KSHB reported. A GoFundMe for Aubrey’s medical expenses revealed that the Missouri teens were traveling to see singer Billie Eilish, who was performing in Omaha that weekend.
The mayor of Kearney released a statement expressing his condolences to the families of the victims. “In times of grief, I extend my deepest condolences to the Cunningham and Yeates families,” Mayor Randy Pogue said in a statement on Facebook. “May courage and hope be the steadfast companions of both families, friends and all who mourn.”
The Yeates family released a statement thanking their community for their support as Aubrey recovers from such a “horrific experience,” according to KSHB.
“This incredibly senseless and tragic event has left our families with a hole that will never be filled,” the statement said.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
