By Chantal Da Silva -
NBC News
Six girls, including a 1-year-old baby, were killed in a car crash on a Tennessee highway in the early hours of Sunday, authorities said.
First responders arrived and found an overturned vehicle with extensive damage when they responded to the incident in Robertson County, about 30 miles north of Nashville, just before 2:00 am.
The six girls, ranging in age from 1 to 18, are believed to have died after being ejected from the vehicle, the department said in a statement.
The exact ages of the victims were not immediately clear.
The causes of the crash on Interstate 24 in Tennessee are still being investigated.
WSMV
Two adults were also injured, including a woman who was seriously injured after she was also apparently thrown from the vehicle, the department said.
The woman was transported by air ambulance to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.
A man who said he had been in the vehicle also suffered minor injuries and was taken to the TriStar Skyline Trauma Center in Nashville.
The victims were not immediately identified and it was not clear if they were relatives.
A second vehicle was also
found
near the damaged car.
The driver of that vehicle did not appear to be injured, the department of emergency medical services said.
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A total of four advanced life support ambulances responded to the scene, along with an air ambulance.
The cause of the accident had not been reported until early Monday morning.
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The accident is being investigated by the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the department said.
Highlighting “how impressively difficult the scene was” of the accident, he said interdepartmental Critical Incident Stress Management teams had been deployed to help those who came to the scene, and further counseling services were provided.
“
These are things that sometimes I don't think people should see
as human beings,” said the chief director of Robertson County Emergency Medical Services, Brent Dyer, according to Nashville-based NBC News affiliate WSMV.
Dyer said he was heartbroken that the children had died in the accident.
“One of the hardest things for us, like anyone who works in any emergency service, is realizing that we can't do anything for a child,” he said.
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It's still unclear if the crash victims were wearing seat belts or properly restrained, but
Dyer implored drivers to make sure children were properly restrained in vehicles
.
“I urge people to put their children in the proper restraint devices and I urge everyone who drives on the road to think about the consequences of impatience and the result of intolerance,” Dyer said.
