According to a report out of Oklahoma, five college students from Oklahoma and Arkansas have died after a pickup truck in which they were riding crashed into a creek in Cherokee County.
The report by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol names 18-year-old Donovan Caldwell of Muskogee; 18-year-old Jessica Swartwout of McAlester; 19-year-old Drake Wells of Thackerville; 18-year-old Rhianna Seely of Salina; and 18-year-old Lily Murphy of Gentry, Arkansas, as the youths killed in the crash, which occurred shortly before 10:45 p.m. Sunday night.
All five of the victims were students at Northeastern State University in Talequah. A candlelight vigil for the students is planned for 7:30 p.m. Monday at Second Century Square in Talequah.
According to the OHP report, Caldwell was the driver of a 2006 Chevrolet Colorado that went off the road and struck a guardrail. The truck veered across the road, slammed through a guardrail and plummeted about 35 feet into the creek, landing on its top.all of he occupants died at the scene of the crash at the Welling Bridge near Tahlequah.
The names of the victims were withheld until late Monday in order to notify all of the next of kin. The report says the cause of the crash has not been determined.
