A second child died early Friday, nearly 24 hours after a car crash claimed the lives of his father and sister.

 “Pray for the family continually,” said Scott Thomas of North Oxford Baptist Church. “Jessica lost her whole world yesterday. … It’s just a devastating tragedy.”

Lincoln Ellington was a passenger in a Volkswagen Jetta that collided with a garbage truck early Thursday morning at the intersection of U.S. 278 (Highway 6) and F.D. “Buddy” East Parkway.

John Matthew Ellington, 40, died at the scene, and first-grader Evangeline Ellington died shortly afterward at Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi.

The driver of the 2020 Mack garbage truck was transported to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

 “Our hearts hurt for the Ellington family and their friends,” said Oxford police chief Jeff McCutchen in a statement. “When tragedy strikes our community, we all feel its impact. We will be praying for them in the coming days and weeks.”

As community outpouring continued, members of the family’s church family continued to speak publicly about the need for prayer and support.

“Pray for the family; pray for the friends; pray for the school system that is struggling and hurting. … Pray with one another as well,” Thomas said in a video posted on Facebook early Friday. “So many in our community are heartbroken and struggling with this tragedy.

Also, anyone who wants to support the family can donate to the Ellington fund at https://northoxford.chruchcenter.com/giving. 

A reconstruction process was initiated by OPD, which involves talking to witnesses and on-scene investigating. Enforcement officers with the Mississippi Department of Transportation were called in to assist OPD. The Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department and Lafayette County Fire Department also assisted at the incident, which remains under investigation.

Stacy Graning of the Brookhaven Daily Leader contributed to this report.