Valendon Burton: Trucker and doting grandfather survived Tishomingo crash thanks to seat-belt
A four-seater car with six high school students collided with a semi-truck in Tishomingo on Tuesday, March 22, leading to the deaths of the teenage girls. Valendon Burton, the driver of the semi-truck, is from Burneyville, Oklahoma. The victims of the crash were Gracie Machado, Brooklyn Triplett, Austin Holt, Madison Robertson, Addison Gratz, and Memory Wilson.
The six girls were packed into a 2015 Chevy Spark with just four seats, and only the two teenage girls riding in the front seat were wearing seatbelts, as per the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. The car was making a right turn at the intersection when it collided with the semi-truck. Burton was wearing a seatbelt at the time and was not injured in the crash. No charges have yet been filed against the 51-year-old.
READ MORE
Tishomingo crash: Community in shock after 6 school girls killed when their car hit a semi-truck
Brooklyn Triplett: Tishomingo crash victim remembered as amazing friend & avid softball player
"Just adding a single passenger under age 21 increases the risk of crashing by 44% when the driver is a teen. One of the main concerns and risks of having multiple teenagers in a car is the distractions that come with that. If one of the passengers is over 35 (the risk) goes down by 62%. That implies teens can drive safely when there’s an adult in the car. The unbelted people put everyone at risk. In a crash, the unbuckled people fly around all over the place," William Van Tassel, Manager of Driver Training Programs at the American Automobile Association, told AP News.
Who is Valendon Burton?
Valendon Burton is a rock hauler and a doting grandfather. The 51-year-old is also a former volunteer firefighter and recently posted about the situation in Ukraine, adding that he was praying for a speedy resolution to the conflict, as per Daily Mail.
Bobby Waitman, Tishomingo Public School's superintendent, released a statement on Facebook, "We feel it is imperative that we inform you that our District has suffered a great loss today involving high school students. Our hearts are broken, and we are grieving with our students and staff. We have counselors available to students presently. We also have space prepared at Tishomingo High School with counselors available through the evening. Schools will be in session tomorrow at each campus, but our focus will be the emotional well-being of our students."
The New York Times quoted Waitman, "This is a community that supports one another. It's a very close-knit community, so the entire community will be grieving these young people's loss." As per AP News, he added, "Academics are secondary, frankly, at this point to the students knowing that they belong, that they have a safe place. You'll never fully understand. I don't think we'll ever fully understand a loss like this."
"OHP continues to investigate the fatal crash in Tishomingo on Tuesday, March 22nd. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families involved and the entire community. Our Traffic Homicide Unit is conducting a thorough investigation that could last weeks as they comb through witness statements, event data recorders, and any video that surfaces. In addition, the National Transportation Safety Board is sending five investigators to work in coordination with our troopers. Any loss of life is tragic and we will continue to thoroughly investigate," read Oklahoma Highway Patrol's statement.