<p>Three Bleckley County High School students were killed in a car wreck Monday when a pickup truck turned into their path to school, authorities said.</p><p>Michael Clay Dykes, 16, his girlfriend, Jessie Amerson, 15, and her brother, Jamie Amerson, 14, died after Dykes car collided with the truck just before 8 a.m. at Ga. 87 and Ga. 126, Sheriff Harold Lancaster said.</p><p>Dykes sister, Kayla Dykes, 11, was transported to The Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon and was in stable condition. Lancaster said her injuries were not considered life threatening.</p><p>State trooper Chris Chavis said the students were not wearing seat belts. I do believe seat belts would have made a difference, Chavis said.</p><p>Lancaster said the driver of the pickup, James Ralph Smith, 64, of Cochran might have been blinded by the low morning sun when he attempted a left turn in front of Dykes. Smith was wearing a seat belt, and his air bag deployed. He was treated and released.</p><p>Superintendent Buster Evans said news of the deaths hit students hard. He said staff and community volunteers, including local youth ministers, counseled distraught students throughout the day.</p><p>If you lose part of your student body, you lose part of yourself, especially in a small school like this, Evans said.</p><p>The Georgia State Patrol is investigating the accident.</p>
