Fatal crashes in Clay, Tucker counties claim four lives

West Virginia metronews reports the following:

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Four people are dead and several others injured following separate traffic accidents Wednesday morning in West Virginia.

State Troopers said a Clay County teenager was killed in pick-up truck crash on Route 36 near Wallback. Kara Conley, 17, was one of 11 young people in the truck. They ranged in age from 14 to 20.

Several of the injured were taken to Charleston Area Medical Center. The driver has been identified as Isaac Murphy, 18.

The wreck happened at about 4 a.m.

Three people are dead, including two children, in an early Wednesday morning accident in Tucker County.

State Police told MetroNews the victims were traveling on U.S. Route 219 south of Thomas at about 5 a.m. when their car went left of center and collided with a large service truck.

Troopers believe the driver, a 20-year-old man, fell asleep at the wheel and tried to correct but didn’t get back across the center line in time. The truck struck the car in the side.

The victims are a girl, 8, her brother, 7, and the driver, 20. State Police said the man was the boyfriend of the mother, 29.  The mother and a third child, 6, were taken to Ruby Memorial Hospital and are in critical condition.

State Troopers say the family is from Elkins and was returning from a funeral of the children’s grandfather in Maryland.

Source:Fatal crashes in Clay, Tucker counties claim four lives