LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- As the bodies of four Louisville residents killed in a crash near St. Louis last week were being brought home Monday, hundreds of people lined the streets in Louisville to pay their respects.
Some held candles. Some waved flags. Many wiped tears from their eyes.
Carrie McCaw, 44, her 12-year-old daughter, Kacey, 40-year-old Lesley Prather and her 12-year-old daughter, Rhyan, were killed Friday as they rode together to a volleyball tournament in Kansas City. Police say that a pickup truck crashed through a cable barrier on Interstate 64 near St. Louis and hit them head-on.
Rose Shouse, who stood along the procession route Monday, said she just felt incredibly sad.
"You feel like you want to cry for them," she said.
"I just really can't explain what it means to think that a family like that is lost at the same time. Two mothers and two daughters lost at the same time," Shouse said.
PURE LOVE: Thousands line streets of Louisville to say goodbye to two moms and their daughters after a car crash. One of the moms was a Louisville firefighter. @loukyfire @WDRBNews pic.twitter.com/esT1ylS7cR
— Joel Schipper (@JSchipperWDRB) February 18, 2020
All four of the victims were on a KIVA volleyball team, and both mothers were volleyball coaches at KIVA. The families also had ties to Falls City Soccer Club.
Falls City Soccer invited the public to take part in a procession for the four victims as Louisville Fire & Rescue escorted their bodies to the Ratterman Funeral Home on Bardstown Road.
UPDATE: Flags draped as procession approaches Sherman Minton Bridge. 🇺🇸 Police officers and firefighters line sides of street. Traffic has slowed. @WDRBNews pic.twitter.com/OmF7uiAj4J
— Joel Schipper (@JSchipperWDRB) February 17, 2020
The procession exited Interstate 64 at Cannons Lane, turned right onto Dutchmans Lane, turned right onto Taylorsville Road and then left onto Bardstown Road, where crowds got bigger as the procession approached its final destination, Ratterman Funeral Home.
IMAGES | Public lines procession route to remember 4 killed in St. Louis crash
Crowds line Bardstown Road for the procession. Feb. 17, 2020
Friends are bringing candles to give to people who show up at St. Raphael as the procession drives by. They said they wanted to provide some light in this darkness.
Firefighters arrive before the procession at the funeral home on Bardstown Road. Feb. 17, 2020.
Crowds lined up early outside Assumption High School to honor the KIVA players and their mothers killed in a crash in St. Louis. Feb. 17, 2020
A procession honoring KIVA players and their mothers killed in a crash in St. Louis rolled down Interstate 64 and in to Louisville. Feb. 17, 2020
People waved flags from the overpass on Interstate 64, as the procession carrying two KIVA players and their mother passed by. Feb. 17, 2020
New Albany Fire personnel set up flags before the procession honoring two KIVA players and their mother that were killed in a crash in St. Louis. Feb. 17, 2020
New Albany Fire personnel set up flags before the procession honoring two KIVA players and their mother that were killed in a crash in St. Louis. Feb. 17, 2020
New Albany Fire personnel set up flags before the procession honoring two KIVA players and their mother that were killed in a crash in St. Louis. Feb. 17, 2020
The Falls City team lined up to honor the KIVA players and their mothers killed in a crash in St. Louis. Feb. 17, 2020.
The St. Louis Fire Dept. stood vigil with the victims of the crash and lined the procession, as their bodies left for Louisville.
The St. Louis Fire Dept. stood vigil with the victims of the crash and lined the procession, as their bodies left for Louisville.
The St. Louis Fire Dept. stood vigil with the victims of the crash and lined the procession, as their bodies left for Louisville.
Lesley Prather was a Louisville firefighter. The McCaws attended St. Raphael the Archangel.
As far east as Corydon, Indiana, area firefighters hung flags on overpasses and saluted the procession as it passed. At the base of the Sherman Minton Bridge, the New Albany and Jeffersonville Fire departments draped two large flags.
Joe Hurt, of Jeffersonville Fire Department, said when people join the fire service, they become part of a new family.
"There are a lot of families mourning right now, including the firefighters in Louisville," he said. "So we just wanted to show that we are here for them for whatever they might need."
Already an incredible amount of @loukyfire firefighters at the funeral home awaiting the arrival of the two Louisville mothers and their daughters who were killed in that St. Louis Crash Friday. Amazing amount of support from local community and fire districts. pic.twitter.com/yJDhjB4THI
— Dalton Godbey (@DaltonTVNews) February 17, 2020
Angie Stanley, who also paid her respects along the route, said the losses for the family are tough to comprehend.
"I have children, so I can't imagine what their siblings are going through and their spouses as well," she said.
Elijah Henderson, the driver of truck that crossed the median, was in the hospital with two broken legs Monday afternoon, according to Missouri Highway Patrol.
According to Fox2 in St. Louis, St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney Tim Lohmar said the matter is a criminal investigation, though the highway patrol told WDRB News that all such crashes are treated as a criminal matter until investigators gather more evidence.
Related Stories:
- Funeral arrangements announced for Louisville mother, daughter killed in Missouri crash
- Louisville firefighter, youth volleyball coach, 2 kids killed in crash outside St. Louis
- Condolences pour in for Louisville residents killed in crash outside St. Louis
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