BUCKLIN, Kan. — An accident in southwestern Kansas has claimed the lives of three children from Iowa.
The Kansas Highway Patrol said the accident happened around 3:30 p.m. Saturday on U.S. 54 in Ford County, near the town of Bucklin.
The patrol said a 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis was driving westbound when it crossed the center line and struck a tractor-trailer. The driver of the Mercury, 43-year-old David Clements of West Des Moines sustained serious injuries.
Three children in the Mercury died. The patrol identified them as 12-year-old Juno Clements, 10-year-old Arabella Clements, and 7-year-old Harper Clements. The children were from Johnston, and the Johnston Community School District confirmed they were students at Summit Middle School and Timber Ridge Elementary School.
The school district said the students' father, who was driving the car, was seriously injured.
The district will make grief support available in schools after spring break.
The driver of the tractor-trailer was unhurt.
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