Semi's "dually" wheel kills two teens

June 24, 2013
Wheel broke free off 2013 Freightliner.

Two North Texas teenagers were killed Friday evening and two others injured, one critically, when a 2013 tractor-trailer rig's dual wheels broke off and crashed into the windshield of the youths' Jeep Wrangler in western Oklahoma, according to The Associated Press and local news reports.

The 1997 Jeep swerved and went off the left side of the road, hitting a cable barrier, the Tulsa World reported.

The two fatally injured were identified as Birdville High School students Abigail Key, 15, and Chance Clifton, 17, the paper said.

The World said the driver, Colby Wade, 18, was being treated for head injuries. He was listed in critical condition at the University of Oklahoma Medical Center in Oklahoma City, about 70 miles west of the crash site.

A fourth student, Caleb Wade, 17, was treated and released from Weatherford Regional Hospital near the accident site in western Oklahoma. All of the teens are from North Richland Hills, the paper said.

Investigators say the four were eastbound on Interstate 40 when the dual tires from a westbound, 2013 Freightliner semi broke free and crossed into oncoming traffic, where they crashed into their windshield.

The report said both drivers were wearing seat belts, but Clifton, a front-seat passenger, was not wearing one.

"Birdville ISD and the Birdville High School community are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of two of our students in the accident Friday evening in Oklahoma," district spokesman Mark Thomas said by email. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to their families, and to the family of the two BHS students who were also injured in the accident."

A candlelight prayer vigil was held Saturday evening at the high school's practice field.

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