Six Oklahoma high school students were killed Tuesday after their car collided with a semi-truck, authorities said.
Sarah Stewart, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, said the students — all girls — died after a crash between their small passenger vehicle and the truck in Tishomingo at 12:30 p.m. local time.
Tishomingo Public Schools Superintendent Bobby Waitman said the students attended the local high school.
He said the students were going off campus for their lunch break when they were killed.
He said their deaths were a devastating loss to his rural community, where school staff is familiar with every student. “We love all of our students,” he said. “We’re experiencing this loss with them.”
Waitman added that counselors were available to speak with students.
No additional information about the students or the driver of the truck was available, and additional details had not been released Tuesday afternoon.
Tishomingo, a town of about 3,000, is in the south-central part of Oklahoma about 120 miles north of Dallas.
This is a developing story; check back for updates.
Tim Stelloh is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.
Lindsey Pipia
Lindsey Pipia is a researcher for NBC News’ newsgathering desk.
