By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-21 07:36:25 | Updated at 2024-11-21 09:34:07
2 hours ago
Two teenagers on their way to a Billie Eilish concert were killed in a horrifying car crash after colliding with a suspect who was involved in a high speed police chase.
Lucy Yeates and Kole Cunningham, both 18, died when the car they were travelling in smashed into a vehicle being driven by a kidnapping suspect along Interstate 19 in Missouri.
Aubrey Yeates, Lucy’s twin sister, was also in the car and is currently being treated for 'multiple traumatic injuries' at a Nebraska hospital, according to a GoFundMe created by her family.
The teens were travelling to see Billie's Omaha gig at the time of the crash. The 22-year-old popstar performed at CHI Health Center on Sunday night.
The tragedy has since shaken the close-knit Missouri community and has stirred an outpour of support for the families.
'On November 17, 2024, our lives changed instantly when a wrong-way driver hit the car our twin daughters, Lucy and Aubrey Yeates, and their friend Kole Cunningham were in,' the Yeates family said in a statement to KMBC.
'This incredibly senseless and tragic event has left our families with a hole that will never be filled.'
The day after the gruesome accident, a fan account, @billieeilishtours, posted about the crash and shared the GoFundMe link with its more than 964,000 followers.
The post also caught the eye of Billie herself as the singer commented on the post, saying, 'Sending so much love to the families. so heartbreaking.'
Lucy Yeates (left) and Kole Cunningham (right) were killed on impact while Aubrey was rushed to hospital with serious injuries
Aubrey Yeates (left), Lucy’s twin sister, was also in the car and is currently being treated for 'multiple traumatic injuries'
The senseless multi-car accident unfolded just after 6 am on Sunday after a woman called 911 claiming that she and her one-year-old son had been kidnapped by a 'suicidal and homicidal' man, Fremont County Sheriff's Office said.
The woman had also told police the man who kidnapped her had dumped her at a hospital in Hamburg, Iowa, before he sped off with her child.
Officers then tracked the 2023 Kia Sorrento before the suspect allegedly led Fremont County deputies and Iowa State Patrol troopers on a high-speed chase across state lines in the wrong direction on the highly-trafficked interstate.
But, when the speeding car reached the 123-mile marker of the interstate, now in Missouri, police said it crashed head-on into a 2013 Ford Focus - which was traveling in the right direction.
Kole, who is also an identical twin, was at the wheel at the time of the collision, while twin sisters Lucy and Aubrey were also sat inside the Ford.
Both Lucy and Kole were killed on impact while Aubrey was rushed to hospital with serious injuries.
Meanwhile, the suspect’s car came to a stop at the nearby Nishnabotna River Bridge and immediately burst into flames, police said.
The teens were said to be travelling to a Billie Eilish concert in Omaha at the time of the crash. The 22-year-old popstar performed at CHI Health Center in Omaha Sunday night
The post also caught the eye of Billie herself as the singer commented on the post, saying, 'sending so much love to the families. so heartbreaking'
A Fremont County deputy then pulled the one-year-old from the burning car to safety before the infant would be airlifted to a hospital in Omaha with non-life-threatening injuries.
The Missouri State Patrol is investigating the collision.
As of Wednesday morning, the GoFundMe to support Aubrey's recovery has raised more than $17,000 of its $20,000 goal.
The Meal Train to support the Cunningham family has raised more than $12,000, surpassing its $2,500 goal.
