Alabama Storm: Nine Children and One Adult Killed in Crash

Butler County Coroner Wayne Garlock has said the children’s ages ranged from nine months to 17 years old. He said the vehicles were likely to have hydroplaned on the wet roads and lost control.

Tropical Depression Claudette has caused flash flooding and tornadoes, destroying dozens of homes in Alabama.

Mr. Garlock said a father who happens to be a firefighter and nine-month-old girl died in one of the cars.

The other eight victims were in a bus belonging to the Tallapoosa County Girls Ranch, a foster home for abandoned, neglected, or abused girls. The youngest was four years old.

The bus driver was said to have been rescued by a bystander who also tried to save the children, but before he could do that, the bus was already engulfed in smoke and flames, WTVC television reported.

“Our hearts are so heavy today. Our ranch family has suffered a great loss,” a post from the Alabama Sheriffs Youth Ranches, which manages the non-profit organization, said on Facebook. “As many of you may have heard, one of our ranch vehicles was involved in a multiple car accident yesterday afternoon. It is such a horrible tragedy and loss.”

Five other people were hurt in the crash, but none of their injuries were critical, Butler County Sheriff Danny Bond told Reuters news agency. “It was a horrific scene,” he said separately to the Montgomery Advertiser. “It was the worst traffic accident I’ve witnessed in my life.”

Pictures from the scene show many burnt-out vehicles of all sizes, on the road and in the central reservation.

10 Investigators have been sent to the site by the National Transportation Safety Board.

On Saturday, Two people, a 24-year-old man and a three-year-old boy, died when a tree fell on their house just outside the city of Tuscaloosa in Alabama.

A search is also underway for a man in Birmingham, Alabama, who may have been swept away in floodwaters.

Kay Ivey, Alabama’s governor, tweeted that it was “a tragic day for our state.”

Tropical Depression Claudette brought torrential rain to northern Alabama, Louisiana, and Georgia late on Saturday.

Shortly after making landfall in the morning, a tornado destroyed or badly damaged at least 50 homes in Escambia County on the Florida border.

The storm was downgraded to a tropical depression, but forecasters warned heavy rain was likely to continue into Sunday, and flash flooding warnings are in place.