April 30 (UPI) — Authorities have identified the four girls who were killed Monday when a car crashed into an Illinois after-school camp.
Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon identified the victims as Alma Buhnerkempe, 7, Kathryn Corley, 7, Ainsley Johnson, 8, and Rylee Britton. All were residents of Chatham, Ill., except for Britton, who was from Springfield.
“Postmortem procedures done today indicate that they all died from multiple blunt force injuries sustained in the incident,” Allmon said in a statement.
At least six other children were hospitalized, with one in critical condition, authorities said.
According to officials, a vehicle left the road for unknown reasons, traveled through a field and crashed into the east side of the YNOT After School Camp in Chatham, located about 12 miles south of Springfield, at about 3:20 p.m. Monday.
The four girls were pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver has been identified by Illinois State Police as 44-year-old Marianne Akers of Chatham. Akers is not in police custody but remains under investigation, ISP said, adding that toxicology reports are pending.
“The cause of the crash remains under investigation, but this does not appear to be a targeted attack,” the department said.
A candlelight vigil for the victims was held Tuesday night at Glenwood High School, with a second one scheduled for Thursday.
YNOT, which stands for Youth Needing Other Things, was founded in 2002 as a 501(c)(3) organization as “a way for parents to place their kids into a safe, fun, active and stimulating summer environment,” according to its website.
“Please keep the families of YNOT and our staff in your prayers,” a brief message on the front page of its website now reads.
“We could sure use them.”