RICHARDSON, Texas — Three people, including a six-year-old girl, were killed in a crash on U.S. 75 in Richardson late Thursday night, police said.
The crash happened shortly before midnight in the southbound lanes of 75, near Renner Road, according to a Richardson Police Department news release.
The release said officers had received a report about a stalled Cadillac SUV in the southbound HOV lane of the highway. Before police could arrive, a Lexus SUV crashed into the back Cadillac, according to the release. A Dodge sedan then crashed into the back of the Lexus, police said.
The Cadillac driver and six passengers were standing outside their vehicle when the two collisions happened, according to the release.
One of the Cadillac passengers, identified as 19-year-old Alyiah Khalid, died at the scene, police said. The driver and four other passengers were taken to a hospital for treatment. One passenger from the vehicle was not injured.
Alyiah's brothers, Hamdi and Hamzah Khalid described her as a special person with a great sense of humor. She was two years away from graduating with a degree in public health and aspired to be a physician.
The Khalid family, from Tennessee, was visiting North Texas for a wedding event.
"I spoke with my sister Aliyah that night," Hamzah said. "I asked her where she was, she's like, I'm on my way home."
"We spent hours looking for my sister, we knew deep down inside that my sister was gone," Hamzah said. "It's very traumatizing, it's very tough, but in our religion -- it teaches us to be patient and to understand that this life isn't the end."
The driver of the Lexus, identified as 27-year-old Haley Taylor, and her six-year-old daughter died after they were taken to a hospital, police said.
The Khalid brothers said their other sister and their niece remain in the hospital and have undergone surgery. A family friend of the Khalid family is in critical condition, the Khalid brothers said.
The driver and a passenger in the Dodge sedan were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
A Nissan sedan was also struck during the crash, once by the Dodge sedan and another time by an 18-wheeler. No one in the Nissan was injured.
Two other vehicles were damaged by debris from the crash.
The crash shut down southbound U.S. 75 for more than eight hours. Traffic was being diverted to President George Bush Turnpike during the closure.
The family has set up a GoFundMe to cover expenses.
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