Blake Shelton is honoring the lives of the six high school students who died in an Oklahoma car crash on Tuesday.
The country music star and Oklahoma native, 45, who lost his older brother in an automobile accident when he was just 14, issued a statement on Wednesday paying tribute to the teens.
"In the wake of yesterday’s unthinkable crash in our small town of Tishomingo, we as a community have all been in shock and broken hearted. I personally know the devastation of suddenly losing a loved one in a car accident," said Shelton.
"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," he continued. "There’s no question it will take a long time to heal from this tragedy. Keep the prayers coming."
The names of the dead teenagers, all girls, have not been released, but five of the six victims were from Tishomingo, a rural town of about 3,000 in the south-central part of Oklahoma, reported NBC News. They were killed when their car collided with a semitruck, authorities said.
All of the victims were between the ages of 15 and 17. The crash remains under investigation.
Tishomingo Public Schools Superintendent Bobby Waitman, who said the students attended the local high school, called their deaths a devastating loss. "We love all of our students,” said Waitman. “We’re experiencing this loss with them.”
Shelton opened up on Twitter in November 2017 about the pain he suffered after his half-brother Richie died in a car crash at age 24.
On Nov. 13, 2017, the 27th anniversary of the tragic accident, the "God's Country" singer wrote, "Lost my brother 27 years ago today. I was only 14 at the time but it changed my life forever... Made me realize that life is precious and there’s no time like RIGHT NOW to go for it... We still miss you Richie!!"
Richie was a passenger in a car that collided with a school bus in Ada, located south of Oklahoma City.
Richie, the car's driver, Redena McManus, and a 3-year-old boy named Christopher McManus, all died during or shortly after the collision, while the bus driver and passengers were uninjured, according to police reports.
Shelton previously opened up about the devastation he suffered after Richie's death during a 2014 interview with "60 Minutes."
“I remember picking up the phone to call him a week after he was dead, to tell him something," Shelton recalled at the time. "I was picking up the phone to call him, to tell him something I just saw on TV or, and it was like constantly a shock to me that he was dead.”