Teenagers on the way to Billie Eilish concert are killed in horror car crash with kidnapping suspect fleeing police
Two teenagers heading to a Billie Eilish concert were killed in a horrific car crash after colliding with a suspect involved in a high-speed police chase.
Lucy Yeates and Kole Cunningham, both 18, died when the car they were riding in crashed into a vehicle driven by a kidnapping suspect along Interstate 19 in Missouri.
Aubrey Yeates, Lucy’s twin sister, was also in the car and is currently being treated for “multiple traumatic injuries” at a hospital in Nebraska, according to a report GoFundMe made by her family.
The teens were traveling to see Billie’s performance in Omaha at the time of the crash. The 22-year-old pop star performed at the CHI Health Center on Sunday evening.
The tragedy has since shocked Missouri’s close-knit community and prompted an outpouring of support for the families.
“On November 17, 2024, our lives changed immediately when a wrong-way driver struck the car occupied by our twin daughters, Lucy and Aubrey Yeates, and their friend Kole Cunningham,” the Yeates family said in a statement. KMBC.
“This incredibly senseless and tragic event has left our families with a hole that will never be filled.”
The day after the horrific accident, a fan account, @billieeilishtours, posted about the crash and shared the GoFundMe link with its more than 964,000 followers.
The post also caught the attention of Billie herself as the singer commented on the post, saying: ‘Sending so much love to the families. so heartbreaking.’
Lucy Yeates (left) and Kole Cunningham (right) were killed in a collision while Aubrey was taken to hospital with serious injuries
Aubrey Yeates (left), Lucy’s twin sister, was also in the car and is currently being treated for ‘multiple traumatic injuries’
The senseless multi-car crash happened just after 6 a.m. Sunday after a woman called 911 claiming she and her one-year-old son had been kidnapped by a “suicidal and homicidal” man, the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office said.
The woman also told police that the man who kidnapped her dumped her at a hospital in Hamburg, Iowa, before running off with her child.
Officers then followed the 2023 Kia Sorrento before the suspect allegedly led Fremont County deputies and Iowa State Patrol troopers at high speed across state lines in the wrong direction on the busy highway.
But when the speeding car reached the 120-mile highway, now in Missouri, police say it struck head-on a 2013 Ford Focus that was traveling in the right direction.
Kole, who is also an identical twin, was at the wheel at the time of the collision, while twin sisters Lucy and Aubrey were also in the Ford.
Both Lucy and Kole were killed on impact, while Aubrey was rushed to hospital with serious injuries.
Meanwhile, the suspect’s car came to a halt at the nearby Nishnabotna River Bridge and immediately burst into flames, police said.
The teens were reportedly traveling to a Billie Eilish concert in Omaha at the time of the crash. The 22-year-old pop star performed at the CHI Health Center in Omaha on Sunday evening
The post also caught the attention of Billie herself when the singer commented on the post, saying, “Sending so much love to the families. so heartbreaking’
A Fremont County sheriff’s deputy then pulled the one-year-old child from the burning car to safety before transporting the child to an Omaha hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The Missouri State Patrol is investigating the collision.
As of Wednesday morning, the GoFundMe to support Aubrey’s recovery has raised more than $17,000 of its $20,000 goal.
The Meal Train in support of the Cunningham family has raised more than $12,000, surpassing its $2,500 goal.