One in a set of Boyle County triplets involved in a car crash Tuesday has died, and her mother and three siblings remain hospitalized.
Assistant Danville Police Chief Tony Gray said McKenna Grace Padgett, 7, of Junction City died at University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center in Lexington from injuries suffered in the crash. She was a passenger in a minivan involved in a two-vehicle crash on Lebanon Road near Danville. Gray said Padgett’s brothers, Chase and Conner, both 7, were in critical condition Tuesday afternoon.
An infant sister, Madelyn Oblisk, and the children’s mother, Stefanie Padgett, 38, were both listed in fair condition at UK.
Danville police officer Sally Bustle said Padgett’s white minivan was eastbound toward Danville about a quarter of a mile from the entrance to American Greetings shortly before 8 a.m. when it crossed the center line.
The vehicle was struck on the passenger side by a westbound white van driven by Philip Belcher, 59. Belcher walked away from the accident but was later taken to Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center as a precaution.
Bustle said Padgett apparently swerved when she became distracted and looked into the back seat. When she looked back at the road, she overcorrected to avoid another vehicle, went up on two wheels and landed sideways across the east and westbound lanes, the officer said.
Both vehicles came to rest in a fencerow on the westbound side of the highway.
Lebanon Road was closed in both directions for several hours while police investigated the wreck. Four helicopters were called to transport the injured.
