Upstate crash victims include 4 children

TRUXTON -- A runaway trailer hauling crushed cars slammed into a minivan carrying two families upstate, killing four young children and three adults in their early 20s, authorities said yesterday.

All seven victims, including four children ages 4 to 7, were killed and a man was injured when their van was hit by a trailer that broke away from a truck on Route 13 around 6 p.m. Wednesday in the rural town of Truxton, about 25 miles south of Syracuse.

The accident Wednesday night claimed the lives of Teresa Bush, 26, and her daughters, Alexis, 4, and Jasmine, 5. Also killed were Lena Beckwith, 21; Carino Vanorden, 24; Alyssa Mead, 7; and Tyler Mead, 4.

Shawn Mead, the father of the two Mead children, was transported to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse where he was in good condition.

All of the victims were from the area.

In a posting on a Facebook page that apparently belonged to Beckwith, she and Vanorden had been engaged since 2011.

Officials said the trailer disconnected from the southbound rig and slammed into the northbound van, ripping it apart. Both vehicles came to rest on the shoulder of the two-lane road.

Ken Stone, first assistant fire chief of Truxton, was one of about 20 firefighters who responded. He said the van's driver saw the trailer coming and drove off the road trying to avoid it.

"They tried to miss it, but he ran out of time," Stone said. "All of a sudden, a trailer is coming at you and there's no truck on it.

"Tore it right apart," he said. "It was humbling, especially young kids. It tears you up." Stone said a couple of victims were under the trailer, which had to be jacked up to get them out.

Family members gathered yesterday morning at a farmhouse about a mile from the accident site. A woman who met reporters asked for privacy and said the family would talk when they are ready.

Sheriff's Capt. Mark Helms said two people in the truck were not injured. The cause of the accident is still being investigated and authorities are looking at everything from mechanical failure to driver actions.