Two little girls are dead and four other people are injured after a tree fell on a car traveling on a Pennsylvania highway this week.
The freak accident happened Monday around 2:30 p.m. as 36-year-old Jason Himebaugh was driving with his girlfriend, 26-year-old Ashley Lichty, and her four young daughters from a previous relationship down Route 403 near Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
As their Pontiac Grand AM crested a hill, a huge tree fell on top of the vehicle, causing it to swerve and crash into a utility pole.
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The falling tree killed Ryleigh Freiwald, 8, and her
6-year-old sister Mikayla, according to The Tribune Review.
Himebaugh, Lichty, and her two other children — Ciara, 5, and 3-year-old Lillie — were all taken to Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center. Lichty, who is eight months pregnant with Himebaugh's child, is reportedly in ICU but
expected to recover, according to CBS Pittsburgh.
Ciara and Lillie Freiwald were reportedly discharged from the hospital on Tuesday, Conemaugh Township Police Chief Louis Barclay told reporters.
"I took a look at the base of the tree and it appeared to be dry rot," he said after the tragic incident. "In my 23 years, I’ve never had anything like this here, this magnitude of this accident with children involved like that there."
Others also said that this particular call was emotionally taxing.
"In the 10 years I've been here, this is a nine out of a 10 on a scale," paramedic Adam Trabold of Conemaugh Township EMS told The Review.
Terry Ruparcic, manager of the Conemaugh EMS station, agreed.
"Because children were involved, it makes it more stressful. We've seen more fatalities in a single crash," Ruparcic said. "But when kids are involved, that changes the game."
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