PICTURED: Three of six teenage girls killed when trucker's semitrailer slammed into their car |

The six girls killed when a truck collided with their car at an Oklahoma intersection have been named by friends and family.

The victims were named locally as Gracie Machado, Brooklyn Triplett, Austin Holt, Madison Robertson, Addison Gratz and Memory Wilson.

The truck driver was also identified Wednesday as Valendon Burton, 51, a rock hauler and doting grandfather who hit their car as it was apparently performing a U-turn across his lane on a rural highway near Tishomingo.

Gracie's sister Sadie Machado posted a photo on Facebook of herself with Gracie with the caption, 'my bestfriend' and a broken heart emoji.

Friends also paid tribute to Brooklyn, a cheerleader and avid softball player.

'Brooklyn was an amazing kid, she loved her family and friends wholeheartedly,' read a tribute on a GoFundMe campaign for the family. 'She was a loyal friend and one hell of a ball player! She will be missed deeply by our family.'

Austin, who was active in Future Farmers of America and enjoyed showing her prize hogs, was confirmed as another victim of the crash by relative Natalie Houston. 'She was a gorgeous intelligent young lady taken way to soon for reasons unknown to me,' Houston wrote on Facebook.

The six high school students were packed into a small, 2015 Chevy Spark with just four seats - and only the two teenaged girls riding in the front seat were wearing seatbelts, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said Wednesday.

The girls were all students of Tishomingo Public School, according to the district's superintendent. The driver was 16 years old, three of the other girls were 15 and the other two passengers were both 17.

Four of the girls, including the driver, were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, according to the OHP report. The other two girls died after being transported to the hospital.

Members of the community meanwhile argued that the crash was an accident waiting to happen, as the location of the crash has long been a dangerous part of the highway.

'Over the course of the last 50 years that I've been here, it's always been a situation where you can't see left and right,' local Brad Sneed told KFOR.

'That intersection is known as the 'Y'. [It's] very dangerous and very easy to accidentally pull out in front of oncoming traffic. Things need to change so it's a clear intersection,' he added, before suggesting the girls' death was the fault of Oklahoma state's transportation department (ODOT).

'Those girls had their whole lives ahead of them,' added David Cribbs, who has lived in the small Oklahoma town since the 1960s.

ODOT officials told KFOR it 'extends its condolences to the families and the entire Tishomingo community affected by the devastating loss'.

'Any loss of life due to a crash is a tragedy, and ODOT is committed to constantly evaluating and improving the highway system for safety.'

One of the victims in the passenger vehicle was identified by family as Gracie Machado. Her sister Sadie Machado posted a photo on Facebook of herself with Gracie with the caption, 'my bestfriend' and a broken heart emoji

Gracie Machado (pictured) was among the six teens killed when a truck plowed into their car at an intersection

Austin, who was active in Future Farmers of America and enjoyed showing her prize hogs, was confirmed as another victim of the crash by relative Natalie Houston.

Brooklyn Triplett, a cheerleader and avid softball player, was also in the car when it was involved in the deadly crash

The semi-truck driver, identified Wednesday by troopers as Valendon Burton, 51, was also wearing a seatbelt during the crash. He was not injured and no charges have been filed

The circumstances of the crash on Tuesday remain under investigation, but troopers say it's believed the Chevy Spark attempted a U-turn and were struck by the semi which was approaching from the east on U.S. 377

The driver of the truck, Burton, was also a volunteer firefighter and posted recently about the situation in Ukraine, adding that he was praying for a speedy resolution to the conflict.

Burton was wearing a seatbelt at the time and was not injured as a result of the crash. No charges have yet been filed.

OHP said in a statement on Wednesday afternoon: 'Our Traffic Homicide Unit is conducting a thorough investigation that could last weeks... Any loss of life is tragic and we will continue to thoroughly investigate.'

'Our thoughts and prayers are with the families involved and the entire community,' the statement added.

Country music star Blake Shelton, who is originally from Tishamingo, issued a statement saying: 'In the wake of yesterday's unthinkable crash in our small town of Tishamingo, we as a community have all been in shock and broken hearted.'

'I personally have known the devastation of suddenly losing a loved one in a car accident. But our community is strong and has come together to support and wrap our arms around the families and friends that are hurting the most.

'There's no question it will take a long time to heal from this tragedy. Keep the prayers coming.'

On Wednesday, one day after the crash, classes did resume in the Tishomingo Public School district, which has about 850 students, said Superintendent Bobby Waitman said.

'Academics are secondary, frankly, at this point to the students knowing that they belong, that they have a safe place,' Waitman said.

'You'll never fully understand, I don't think we'll ever fully understand a loss like this,' Waitman added.

The Superintendent said funerals for the students were not yet scheduled. A community candlelight vigil for the young victims is scheduled for 7pm on Friday at the Tishomingo High School football field.

The car was totaled from the collision, which happened around 12:30 p.m. in Tishomingo, which is about 100 miles southwest of Oklahoma City

Images from the scene of the crash from KFOR showed a Chevy Spark with what appears to be a pink steering wheel among the rubble

The 2015 Chevy Spark and the semi collided around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday at the intersection of U.S. 377 and Oklahoma 22 in Johnston County

The two vehicles collided around 12.19pm on Tuesday at the intersection of U.S. 377 and Oklahoma 22 in Tishomingo, a rural city of about 3,000 located about 115 miles southeast of Oklahoma City.

Troopers said the girls' vehicle was traveling eastbound on Oklahoma 22 and stopped at a stop sign at the intersection of U.S. 377 just before 12:30 p.m.

OHP Trooper Shelby Humphrey said Tuesday night that the girls attempted to make a U-turn at the intersection, which maps show is at the end of a 90-degree curve of U.S. 377 from east to south.

The girls' car was struck by the semi which was approaching from the east on U.S. 377, KXII-TV reported.

The force of the crash moved the car about approximately 300 feet from the intersection, KXII-TV reported, leaving it in a mangled mess with doors and ripped off.

According to the crash report released by OHP on Wednesday morning, the circumstances of the wreck remain under investigation.

The National Transportation Safety Board was sending a team, according to NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson.

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Burton was also a volunteer firefighter and posted recently about the situation in Ukraine, adding that he was praying for a speedy resolution to the conflict

While what led to the crash is unknown, it highlighted concerns of teenagers carrying carloads of other young passengers.

'Just adding a single passenger under age 21 increases the risk of crashing by 44 percent' when the driver is a teen, said William Van Tassel with AAA´s national office.

'One of the main concerns and risks of having multiple teenagers in a car is the distractions that come with that,' Van Tassel said.

'If one of the passengers is over 35 (the risk) goes down by 62 percent. That implies teens can drive safely when there´s an adult in the car,' Van Tassel told The Associated Press.

The crash report, released Wednesday morning, said the circumstances of the wreck remained under investigation. But Highway Patrol Trooper Shelby Humphrey said Tuesday night that the girls' car was making a right U-turn when it collided with the truck.

Only the 16-year-old driver and front-seat passenger were wearing seat belts when the 2015 Chevrolet Spark collided with the truck, according to the Highway Patrol.

'The unbelted people put everyone at risk,' Van Tessel said. 'In a crash, the unbuckled people fly around all over the place,' injuring others inside the vehicle.

Oklahoma is the only state where passengers who more than 7 years old and in the back seat of a car do not have to wear a seat belt, said Leslie Gamble, the manger of public and government relations for AAA-Oklahoma.

'A 41-member coalition of traffic safety advocates has pushed for a bill to be passed by our state legislators for the past three years without success,' Gamble said

Tishomingo Public School Superintendent Bobby Waitman confirmed the loss of the girls on Facebook, saying the district has 'suffered a great loss.'

'Our hearts are broken, and we are grieving with our students and staff,' Waitman wrote.

Family, friends and the community posted condolences on social media, while others inquired about additional details of the crash.

But some heartless online commenters posted scathing messages on the victims' social media accounts, ripping into to them for not wearing seat belts.

One user wrote, 'Where was yo seatbelt at?' and included a laughing crying emoji. The same account commented again, saying 'Why u didn't wear a seatbelt? It's kinda hard to feel bad for u' along with a hand over face emoji. Another user wrote, 'If you woulda had a seatbelt on this wouldn't of turned out that way.'

Their comments were met with backlash from the victims' loved ones and the community who slammed them for making such comments during the heartbreaking time.

It is not clear if the commenters knew the victims.