12:50 p.m.
The head of Girl Scouts of the USA says “our hearts are broken” after three Girl Scouts and an adult were struck and killed in what authorities say was a hit-and-run crash along a rural Wisconsin highway.
Girl Scouts CEO Sylvia Acevedo issued a statement Sunday expressing condolences for the victims, who were picking up litter along the road in Lake Hallie when a pickup truck veered of the road and hit them. A fourth girl survived but was in critical condition Saturday night at a Minnesota hospital.
Police say the 21-year-old driver sped off but later surrendered. He is expected to be charged with four counts of homicide.
Acevedo says Girl Scouts everywhere stand with “our sister Girl Scouts in Wisconsin to grieve and comfort one another in the wake of this terrible tragedy.”
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12:15 p.m.
A western Wisconsin community is grieving the deaths of three Girl Scouts and an adult who were struck by a pickup truck while collecting trash along a rural highway.
The victims were struck Saturday morning while picking up trash in Lake Hallie, which is 90 miles (145 kilometers) east of Minneapolis and just south of Chippewa Falls, where the girls were fourth-graders at Halmstad Elementary School.
Lake Hallie police Sgt. Daniel Sokup says the pickup crossed a lane and veered into a roadside ditch, striking the victims, including a girl who survived but remained in critical condition Saturday night.
Sokup says the 21-year-old driver, Colten Treu of Chippewa Falls, sped off but later surrendered and will be charged with four counts of homicide.
Troop 3055’s regional council, the Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes, expressed its condolences on Facebook and said a vigil will be held Sunday evening.
