Distracted driving led to crash that killed 3 teens on spring break, police say

HOUSTON -- A difficult day for Bellaire High School students returning from Spring Break -- two students from the school and a third teen are dead after a car crash near Corpus Christi.

Four Houston-area teens were returning home from Spring Break in South Padre Island Sunday afternoon when the car they were in crossed the median of Highway 77 just south of Robstown and hit an 18-wheeler. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, the driver of the car was distracted by using a cell phone as a GPS. The car drifted over the center median, and the driver over-corrected multiple times before losing control and striking the tractor-trailer.

Jade Robinson, 17, and her sister Brianna Robinson, 19, were both in the back seat of the car and were killed instantly. The driver and the front seat passenger, Brittanie Tashay Johnson, 18, were airlifted to Christus Spohn Memorial Hospital in Corpus Christi with life threatening injuries. Johnson, a former Bellaire HS student, died at the hospital. The driver is in critical condition in ICU. The driver of the truck tractor was not transported to the hospital.

Jade was a senior and a varsity volleyball player at Bellaire High School. She recently signed to play college volleyball at Tennessee Weslayan College. The team held a morning meeting and grief counselors are on hand for students.

The girls' mother, Stacey Robinson, told abc13 that Brianna ran track when she attended Bellaire, and graduated last year. She was currently a student at Houston Community College.

Stacey says this was the first trip the girls had taken together. The driver of the car is a senior at Lamar High School.

HISD officials released a statement: "This is an incredibly sad day for Bellaire and Lamar high schools. We extend our support and sympathy to the families and friends of these students, as well as to both school communities and the district, as a whole. Counselors are at Bellaire and Lamar today to provide support to students and staff. Please keep them in your thoughts."

On social media, the school and her coaches are asking for prayers for the victims and their families.

Robinson's future college coach also said Sunday was one of the her hardest days ever as a coach.

Troopers are still investigating the crash at this time.