Two teens killed in crash on way to Billie Eilish concert after suspect kidnapped baby and led cops on chase
Two teenagers on their way to a Billie Eilish concert were killed in a horror car crash, after a suspect kidnapped a one-year-old baby and led police on a high-speed chase.
Lucy Yeates, 18, and Kole Cunningham, 18, died on Sunday when the car they were traveling in collided with the vehicle driven by the suspected kidnapper along Interstate 29 in Missouri. The unnamed 29-year-old suspect also died at the scene, reported NewsPressNow.
The multi-car collision unfolded after a woman called 911 just after 6 a.m. reporting that she and her one-year-old son had been kidnapped by a “suicidal and homicidal” man, Fremont County Sheriff’s Office said.
The woman told police the man had then dropped her off at a hospital in Hamburg, Iowa, before speeding off in a 2023 Kia Sorento with her child.
When officers tracked down the vehicle, the suspect allegedly led Fremont County deputies and Iowa State Patrol troopers on a high-speed chase in the wrong direction along Interstate 29 from Iowa to Missouri.
As the car reached the 123-mile marker of the I-29 in Missouri, police said it crashed into a 2013 Ford Focus which was traveling in the right direction and had been passing a Volvo semi-truck at the time.
Inside the Ford Focus was Lucy, Kole, and Lucy’s twin sister Aubrey who were on their way to Omaha to watch Billie Eilish in concert, a family member said on a GoFundMe page. Lucy and Kole were killed while Aubrey was rushed to hospital with serious injuries.
The suspect’s car came to a stop at Nishnabotna River Bridge and burst into flames, police said.
A Fremont County deputy pulled the one-year-old from the burning car to safety. The infant was airlifted to a hospital in Omaha with non-life-threatening injuries, polic said.
The Volvo semi-truck also swerved to avoid the crash and hit a Fremont County deputy’s patrol vehicle.
The truck driver, a 30-year-old from Ontario, Canada, was unharmed, reported the Kansas City Star, while the deputy was treated for minor injuries.
The Missouri State Patrol is investigating the collision.
Lucy and Aubrey’s family said in a statement to KMBC: “On November 17, 2024, our lives changed instantly when a wrong-way driver hit the car our twin daughters, Lucy and Aubrey Yeates, and their friend Kole Cunningham were in. This incredibly senseless and tragic event has left our families with a hole that will never be filled.”
The GoFundMe launched to help Aubrey’s recovery had topped $15,000 by Wednesday morning. A separate fundraiser for Kole’s family has been organized on Meal Train.
