Three young Kentucky girl scouts killed in fatal crash after van struck by truck on busy highway
Warning: This article contains graphic description and can be triggering to some readers. Discretion advised
TOPEKA, KANSAS: Three young girls from Kentucky died in a fatal car crash, leaving their families heartbroken. On Saturday, October 8, 2022, a group of girls were going to a girl scout event when the mother driving the children attempted to take an emergency U-turn on a busy highway and were struck by a truck.
The vehicle in which the children were traveling to the girl scout event was hit by a semi-tractor trailer, killing Kylie Lunn, 9, Laila El Azri, 9, and Brooklyn Peery, 8, and also injuring Peery's mother Amber, and her brother Carrington, 5, along with fellow girl scout Gabriella Ponomarez, 9. The three girls who died in the horrifying car crash were from Topeka, Kansas.
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(Tifanny Capri Lunn and Amber Peery/Facebook, GoFundMe)
Amber Peery attempted a U-turn while driving through the barrier wall on I-335 on Saturday morning when the tragedy unfolded, reported Kansas police. Their van was immediately struck by a semi-tractor trailer truck driven by Robert Hosey Russell, 70. Amber was rushed to the hospital with minor injuries along with her son Carrington, Gabriella Ponomarez, and a fellow scout. Truck driver Russell was not injured in the crash.
Family, friends, and the Girl Scouts of Northeast Kansas and Northwest Missouri are all mourning the three children's deaths and setting up donations. Residents told WIBW 13 that cars frequently use the emergency U-turn opening by the barrier wall where Amber's car was hit.
According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, the accident happened just after 9 am on I-335 near SW 69th Street.
Grieving mother Amber took to Facebook to talk about her daughter's death, "I honestly don't know how I'm going to keep going without you, but I know I have to and everything I do will be with a purpose for you. Mommy loves you so much sweet girl and all I want is to be able to hold you in my arms again," the mother spoke of Brooklyn Peery who died in the crash wrote.
Tifanny Lunn, mother of Kylie, who was best friends with the fellow victim Laila said, "She was my everything and I was her everything and my heart is just broken right now." Tiffany wrote on Facebook, "I just don't know where to go from here, she was my purpose, she was my everything, I'm just lost without her."
A GoFundMe has been set up for Laila to help her family pay for funeral costs. "Laila was on a day out with her Girl Scout troop," the page read. "What was going to be a fun day turned to tragedy."
Kylie and Laila were both fourth graders at Farley Elementary School. The family's neighbors set up a memorial site for the two girls on Sunday in a park where the girls frequently played.
The Girl Scouts of Northeast Kansas and Northwest Missouri mourned the young lives lost. "Our hearts are broken for the girls and families of Troop 5567 from Topeka, Kansas who tragically lost three Girl Scouts in an automobile accident on Saturday," said CEO Joy Wheeler. The Girl Scouts of Northeast Kansas and Northwest Missouri are supporting the families as they honor the lives of their three Girl Scout sisters.