( CNN ) Georgia Southern University was in mourning Thursday after five nursing students were killed the day before in a multivehicle wreck near Savannah . Caitlyn Baggett , Morgan Bass , Emily Clark , Abbie Deloach and Catherine ( McKay ) Pittman -- all juniors -- were killed in the Wednesday morning crash as they were traveling to a hospital in Savannah , according to the school website . Fellow nursing students Brittney McDaniel and Megan Richards were injured as was another person , who was not identified by the Georgia State Patrol . The young women were on their way to finish their first set of clinical rotations . `` Today should have been a day of celebration for this bright group of students , '' at St. Joseph's/Candler hospital said in a Facebook posting . `` It was their last day of clinical rotations ... in their first year of nursing school . '' Clinicals include hands-on instruction at a health care facility . A post commander for the Georgia State Patrol said a tractor-trailer smashed into an eastbound line of cars that had slowed for a prior accident on Interstate 16 . `` He came along from behind them and he just did not stop for those cars , '' Sgt . Chris Nease said . There were four passenger vehicles and three tractor-trailers involved in the 5:45 a.m. accident . The women who were killed were in two cars , a Toyota Corolla and a Ford Escape . One of their vehicles caught on fire , Nease said , but it will take an investigation to determine whether the women died on impact . CNN Savannah affiliate WTOC reported one witness tried to help . `` Right about the time I got here , the car was just about catching on fire , '' Cayne Monroe told the station . `` The car just burned up really quickly . And I run up there , but there was nothing anyone could do . I 've never witnessed something like that in my life . It was pretty tragic . '' The state patrol said the truck driver is from Louisiana . The 55-year-old man had not been charged as of Thursday evening , Nease told CNN . `` Every one of our students contributes in no small measure to the Eagle Nation , '' university President Brooks A . Keel said in a statement . `` The loss of any student , especially in a tragic way , is particularly painful . Losing five students is almost incomprehensible . '' Georgia Southern flew flags at half-staff and counseling was offered to students . A campuswide vigil was held Thursday night . On the university 's Twitter page , a tear was added to the profile logo of the eagle mascot . The school has a student body of about 20,000 and is in Statesboro , about 60 miles from Savannah . `` You could tell that they really loved what they did , '' Sherry Danello , vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer at St. Joseph's/Candler , said on the hospital 's Facebook posting . `` They did n't just go through the task , they really connected to the patients . '' Luke Bryan , a country music star and school alumnus , tweeted his condolences : `` Praying for everyone at Georgia Southern and the families who lost loved ones . '' CNN 's Matthew Stucker contributed to this report .
Georgia State Patrol provides more details of crash . Georgia Southern University mourns five nursing students killed in auto accident . Five cars and two tractor-trailers were involved in crash on Interstate 16 .