4 children, the oldest just 7, among dead in tragic upstate New York crash

Even seasoned firefighters said they couldn’t believe what they saw when they responded to a crash that killed seven people in upstate New York

A trailer hauling crushed cars broke free of the big rig that was pulling it, slashed across a rural, two-lane road and slammed into a mini-van whose driver tried desperately to avoid the runaway rig.
Four children, ages 4 through 7, and three adults died in the crash Wednesday night in Truxton, about 25 miles south of Syracuse. Another adult was hospitalized in good condition. Police are investigating the cause of the crash.
Ken Stone, first assistant chief of the Truxton Fire Department, said responders were deeply affected by a crash that seemed so improbable.

“My god! What did we just go through?” he said of the firefighters’ reaction. “What did we just see? Did that just really happen?”
“You get all that training and you’re not ready for it,” he said. “You can’t be if you’re human.”


Stone was one of about 20 firefighters who responded. He said it appears the van’s driver saw the trailer coming and drove off the road trying to avoid it.
“They tried to miss it, but he ran out of time,” said Stone. “All of a sudden, a trailer is coming at you and there’s no truck on it.
“Tore it right apart,” he said. “It was humbling, especially young kids. It tears you up.”

The accident Wednesday night claimed the lives of 26-year-old Teresa Bush and her daughters, 4-year-old Alexis and Jasmine, 5. Also killed were 21-year-old Lena Beckwith; Carino Vanorden, 24; Alyssa Mead, 7; and Tyler Mead, 4.
Shawn Mead, the father of the two Mead children, was transported to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse where he was in good condition.
All of the victims were from the local area.