Five killed after day care van crashes on interstate

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- A day care van went out of control on an interstate and crashed into an overpass embankment Thursday, killing the driver and four children and critically injuring two others.

The van, which belongs to Tippy Toes Learning Academy, was four miles away from the state-subsidized facility on its way to an elementary school. Police said they believe the driver was speeding.

The driver and two girls, both age 6, died at the scene; two boys, ages 9 and 8, died at LeBonheur Children's Center, hospital spokeswoman Janet Phillips said. Two other boys, ages 10 and 11, were listed in critical condition at the hospital, Phillips said. Among the dead and injured were two sets of siblings.

Sandra Gordon, owner of the day care center, is the mother of the 8-year-old boy who was killed and the 11-year-old who was injured. She declined to comment.

Vershell Curtis, the aunt of two of the dead children and one of the injured, said she had been helping her family take care of them since January because their mother was hospitalized with brain cancer. "This morning when they got on the van they were waving and throwing kisses," Curtis said, her voice choked with emotion.

Curtis said the driver would pick up the children at home, and take the younger ones to day care and the older ones to school.

Deputy Chief Charles Cook said the van was believed to be traveling about 65 mph in a 55-mph zone.

It was in the southbound lane of Interstate 240 when it left the roadway around 8 a.m. 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 overpass.

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

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

A state registry of day care centers shows Tippy Toes Learning Academy can care for up to 62 children, ages 6 weeks to 12 years old.

After the crash, police blocked the center's parking lot, and there were no children playing outside the brightly painted brick building. A van bore the slogan "a home away from home."