Five confirmed dead in crash of Memphis day care van

Associated Press WriterMEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- A day care van slammed into a bridge embankment on Interstate 240 Thursday, killing the driver and four children and critically injuring two boys, authorities said.

The van, which belonged to Tippy Toes Learning Academy, crashed about four miles away from the day care center.

Teacher Jackie Davis said two of the children were children of Sandra Gordon, the day care center's owner and director. It wasn't clear whether Gordon's children were among the dead.

The driver and two girls died at the scene, and two boys, ages 10 and 8, died at LeBonheur Children's Center, hospital spokeswoman Janet Phillips said.

Two other boys, ages 10 and 11, remain in critical condition with multiple trauma injuries, Phillips said.

The names of the dead and injured were not released pending notification of family.

Deputy Chief Charles Cook said the crash happened about 9 a.m. The van was traveling southbound in the right lane when it left the roadway and straddled a low guard rail along the road's shoulder for several feet. The van then hit a utility pole, turned on its side and slammed into an embankment at the foot of an interstate overpass.

"It does appear that speed was involved," Cook told WREG-TV, adding no other vehicles were involved. The weather was sunny and clear.

Cook said all the children were apparently wearing seat belts or were restrained in safety seats, but that the driver may not have been wearing a seat belt.

The interstate was closed for about two hours as emergency crews removed the bodies, cleared the wreckage and police investigated the scene.

After the accident, police blocked the parking lot at the Tippy Toes Learning Academy, saying the workers and owners did not want to speak to reporters.

There were no children playing outside the brightly painted brick building. In the parking lot sat one of the day care center's other vans; it was painted with the center's name and the slogan "a home away from home."

A state registry of day care centers shows Tippy Toes has the capacity to care for 62 children, ages six weeks to 12-years-old.

The Tennessee Department of Human Services regulates day care centers. Spokeswoman Lisa Gallon said the department is reviewing Tippy Toes' file.

"We have not found any legal enforcement, not taken any action against them in the past," Gallon said. "But we're still reviewing the file."

The deaths of the driver and children come nearly three years after two Memphis toddlers died of heatstroke when they were left alone in day care vans belonging to two different centers.

Gov. Don Sundquist signed a bill into law in June 2000 that tightened the state's day care rules, largely because of the deaths of the two toddlers.