STATESBORO, Ga. — This week marks 10 years since five Georgia Southern University nursing students were killed in a fiery crash.
The deadly crash happened on April 22, 2015 along Interstate 16 outside of Savannah.
A group of seven young women were headed to their final clinical training when a tractor-trailer driver crashed into the back of their two cars.
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Five of the nursing students died: Emily Clark, a junior from Powder Springs, Morgan Bass, a junior from Leesburg, Abbie Deloach, a junior from Savannah, McKay Pittman, a junior from Alpharetta, and Caitlyn Baggett, a junior from Millen.
The other two victims survived.
In 2016, the truck driver and trucking company involved in the crash were indicted on vehicular homicide charges.
The driver, John Wayne Johnson, pleaded guilty to nine criminal charges and was sentenced to five years in prison.
Total Transportation of Mississippi, his employer, agreed to pay $78 million to settle civil lawsuits after the crash.
Georgia Southern University released the following statement on Tuesday.
“As we mark the tenth anniversary of the accident that claimed the lives of five Georgia Southern University nursing students — Caitlyn Baggett, Morgan Bass, Emily Clark, Abbie DeLoach and Catherine “McKay” Pittman — we pause to reflect on the lasting impact they made on Eagle Nation. Over the past decade, their lives have inspired meaningful change, including efforts to improve highway safety and support nursing education through scholarships and memorials in their name. These young women were dedicated to serving others and we continue to honor their lives not just in memory, but in the way we live, learn and lead."
PREVIOUS STORIES:
- April 22, 2015: 5 Georgia Southern students killed, 2 injured in crash
- April 27, 2015: Troopers interview truck driver in deadly crash with GSU students
- April 21, 2016: Settlement reached in wrongful deaths of Georgia Southern nursing students
- July 14, 2016: Truck driver sentenced for crash that killed 5 nursing students
- January 18, 2017: Truck driver who caused crash that killed nursing students weeps in court
- January 19, 2017: Survivor of crash that killed nursing students gives emotional testimony
- January 20, 2017: Jury awards $15M to student hurt in wreck
- November 11, 2023: Family of Ga. nursing student among 5 killed in crash opens tutoring boutique in her honor
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