
Two teenage girls die in a car crash after a tractor-trailer rear-ended their car.
A Facebook video captured the moments shortly before the girls’ death. While live streaming on Facebook, a tractor-trailer hit the car from behind, killing both the driver, as well as the passenger on the spot, according to the Pennsylvania authorities.
The 18-years-old driver, Brooke Miranda Hughes was traveling at low speeds in the right lane on Interstate 380, near Tobyhanna on Tuesday night while broadcasting a Facebook Live video. The passenger and Ms. Hughes’ friend, Chaniya Morrison Toomey asked Miranda if she was going live. Before the latter had time to respond, a tractor-trailer rammed into the back of the car trapping the girls inside the pile of contorted metal.
After the crash, the live-stream goes black for seven minutes. The video ends with a man with blurred face talking in the background. Local authorities who later arrived at the scene pronounced them both dead. The video was posted on Ms. Hughes’ Facebook page shortly after the incident. However, it is unclear who posted the footage.
Michael Jay Parks, the tractor-trailer’s driver walked away unharmed. At this point, it is unclear if he is going to face criminal charges. The State Police has concluded that Miranda Hughes was driving with a flat tire. However, the extensive damage to the vehicle did not allow the authorities to properly determine the car’s original state.
The video has been viewed over 7,000 times before Facebook took it down. Furthermore, a spokesperson for the social media company says that graphic content involving suicides or death is not accessible to minor users. The spokesperson also encourages the Facebook community to report any videos that feature graphic violence to law enforcement agencies.
Samantha Piasecki is the deceased girls’ friend. She was in the car on Monday night but got off shortly before the car crash took place. According to her statement, both girls were full of life, positive, down to Earth, and fun to be around. Miranda Hughes was a student at West Scranton High School and worked at McDonald’s, according to her Facebook page. A campaign to raise money for Toomey-Morrison’s funeral on GoFundMe describes them as energetic spirits with good personalities.
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