LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Five family members and a longtime friend had been driving for nearly 20 hours last week when they were killed in a fiery head-on crash in Kansas less than an hour from their destination, relatives have said.
Their car collided with another vehicle Thursday evening on the Kansas 10 bypass. The driver of the second vehicle was seriously hurt, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities have not explained how the crash happened.
Relatives said the victims were 29-year-old Anico Kirk; her three daughters, 11-year-old Yamel Kirk, 9-year-old Umariel Lee and 4-year-old Nah’Liyah Cay; Kirk’s brother, 27-year-old Maurice Ross; and longtime family friend 49-year-old Felecia Harvey.
Friends have established a GoFundMe account to assist loved ones.
Tony Kirk said the six were headed from Lakeland, Florida, to Topeka, Kansas. He is the uncle of Anico Kirk and Maurice Ross.
Anico Kirk moved to Florida from Topeka about a year ago and had recently returned to school to get her license as a hairdresser and makeup artist. Ross and Harvey flew from Topeka to Florida to visit, and Harvey was helping to look after the girls as they drove across the country to visit family, Tony Kirk said.
Tony Kirk described his niece’s daughters as “phenomenal young ladies.”
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DOUGLAS COUNTY— Six people died in an accident just after 6:30p.m. Thursday in Douglas County.
A Ford Fusion and a GMC passenger vehicle were involved in a head-on collision and fire on 40 Highway/S. Lawrence Trafficway, just west of 59 Highway, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.
Fire consumed the Fusion and the six occupants died at the scene.
The GMC was partially burned. EMS transported the female driver to a hospital with serious injuries, according to the sheriff's department.
The Kansas Department of Transportation temporarily closed the road in both directions between the 27th Street intersection and U.S. 59, a stretch of two-lane highway with no median.
Authorities released no additional information Friday morning.