A Christmas Day horror crash has left three teenage cheerleaders dead and one seriously injured after their vehicle spun out of control and smashed into a tree.
Addyson Martin, Emilee Fain and Cassidy Dunn, all 16, died when the SUV they were traveling back from a Christmas party in tragically crashed off a road in Geneva, Alabama, USA.
Police say they may have been swerving to avoid a deer.
A photo from the scene shows the roof of the dark blue car peeled back, with the vehicle having been mounted on the back of a recovery truck.
There are pieces of tree branch stuck in one of the front wheel arches, as well as dangling from the top of the car.
County coroner Donny Adkinson confirmed the teens, all sitting on the front seats, were cheerleaders from Geneva High School, describing the incident as "just awful", reports NBC News .
Two other girls were on the back seat of the small vehicle, with one seriously injured and rushed to hospital via helicopter in nearby Birmingham, while the other wasn't badly hurt. Both are expected to recover, say police.
The group had been at a Christmas gathering at someone's home and were going elsewhere when their car came off the road and hit an oak tree.
The road crosses a levee that protects the town, situated close to the Florida line and 100 miles south of Montgomery, from flooding, explained Lt Michael McDuffle, of Geneva Police Department.
However, police are currently unable to confirm what caused the car to lose of control but have speculated they may have swerved to avoid hitting a deer.
"We're not sure for what reason they lost control, but it hit a big oak tree. It could have been a deer ran out in front of them," Lt. McDuffie said.
Posting on the department's Facebook page, Police Chief Tony Clemmons encouraged townsfolk to pray for the families.
