This is so sad...please pray for the families involved

Two Louisville teenagers died Friday from injuries suffered in a Thanksgiving Day crash on Interstate 71 in Oldham County.

Adrian L. Hightower, 19, of the 4200 block of Graf Drive, was pronounced dead at 8:20 a.m., Jefferson County deputy coroner Sam Weakley said. Hightower's girlfriend, Maddie Thomas, 17, was a passenger in his car and died at 1:44 p.m., Oldham County police said.

They were taken to University Hospital after the car Hightower was driving collided with a vehicle that had crossed the median near mile marker 14 about 4:30 p.m. Thursday, a press release from police said.

Hightower and Thomas were in the southbound lane of I-71 in a 2000 Nissan Altima when a 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer driven by Robert P. Kane, 33, of the 4100 block of Grimes Cove in Buckner, crossed the median, police said. Kane’s 5-year-old daughter was in the car with him and was ejected from the Trailblazer, according to police. She was taken to Kosair Children’s Hospital.

Neither Kane nor his daughter was wearing a seatbelt, police said. Hightower and Thomas were wearing seatbelts and had to be extricated from the vehicle. They, along with Kane, were taken to University Hospital by Oldham County EMS. Kane was listed in critical condition Friday.

Police said alcohol may have been a factor in the collision.

According to friends, Hightower was a recent Seneca High School graduate and was a freshman at the University of Kentucky.

Brennan Price, who has been friends with Hightower since they were students at Myers Middle School, said he spent Thursday night at University Hospital with other friends and family of the teens.

Hightower was always doing something to put a smile on your face, Price said. Hightower also was a cancer survivor, having been diagnosed with Leukemia his freshman year, Price said. “He fought against the odds and he beat that.”

Hightower and Thomas lived around the corner from each other in the Klondike neighborhood. The couple had just celebrated Thanksgiving with Thomas’ family and were on their way to celebrate with Hightower’s family when the crash occurred, Price said.