Mackenzie Turner, 14, lost her life when a church van flipped. |
A church van carrying 12 people from Destiny Church (Assemblies of God) in Columbia,
Tenn., crashed off Interstate 40 Thursday morning around 9 a.m.
Investigators
say the driver, 24-year-old youth pastor Bobby Sasser, apparently lost
control of the vehicle near exit ramp 143 to Highway 13 when the van ran
off the road, struck a pole, flipped over and landed on its roof.
A 14-year-old girl, Mackenzie Turner, was killed in the crash. She was an only child.
Three
others were critically injured in the accident—12-year-old Shelby
Hopkins, 13-year-old Sebastian Kerr and 15-year-old Sidney Massey—and
were airlifted to Monroe Carroll Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt
University Medical Center in Nashville.
A hospital spokeswoman says all three have been upgraded from critical to stable condition.
Sasser,
along with 16-year-olds Austyn Kelley and Travis Ingram; 15-year-olds
Joseph Penrod, David Andrews and Brooke Yokley; 13-year-old Thomas
Morgan; and 12-year-old Carleigh Yokley; were transported to Three
Rivers Hospital with non-critical injuries.
Officials say Sasser and two others were the only ones wearing seatbelts.
The
van was one of three church vans returning from a concert and overnight
youth “lock-in” at a church in Munford, a retreat where youth members
typically stay up all night.
Destiny Church was founded in 2007
by current pastor Steven Morgan. The church began holding services in a
home and is now located on the square downtown Columbia, averaging 300
members.
This was not the first fatal accident that has occurred
within the Destiny Church youth group in the last few weeks. In June,
17-year-old church member Sarah Graham and another youth, 16-year-old
Kyle Tate, was killed in a vehicle accident in Mt. Pleasant, Tenn.
Church Board Member Bradd Kimes addressed the media at the church in Columbia, saying this
is a difficult time for the church. “We’re sad. … We just ask that you pray for us and pray for these
parents that are dealing with this.” He added: “They are a special group
of kids.”
