Selfies are frequently taken by groups of friends; however, these three girls overlooked an important aspect before taking a picture that might endanger their lives.

Three girls died in terrible circumstances back in 2011, leaving a town in Utah in shock.

Three teenagers, Essa Ricker, Kelsea Webster, and her younger sister, Savannah, waved to Utah Railway train engineers as they passed the state’s Covered Bridge Canyon crossing, according to Utah County Sheriff Sgt. Spencer Cannon.

None of them realised, though, that a Union Pacific carrier was approaching from the other direction.

The distance between the two trains was only around three or four feet, Cannon told reporters at the time.

Essa and Kelsea are thought to have perished instantly in the disaster when the train struck the three of them.

Source: Freepik
Savannah had surgery at a nearby hospital, but life support was removed after medical professionals informed her parents that she would not recover from her severe brain injuries.

Jayna Webster, Savanah and Kelsea’s mom, wrote on her blog at the time, “We spoke to the doctors today and they informed us that Savvy’s brain injuries were too great.”

“Even though they’ve had done everything possible, Savannah will not be able to recover any further. We will keep her on life support till the end of the day, but it’s time to say goodbye, for now, to an angel that walked among us.”

Savannah wrote on Facebook shortly before the terrible accident: “Standing right by a train ahaha this is awesome!!!!”

The teenagers, who were big train fans, posed for a picture without realising that a fast train was coming from the opposite direction.

The headlights of the rapidly approaching train are seen in the selfie, which was snapped just seconds before the sad event, glowing a bright yellow.

Unfortunately, the teenagers were not able to hear the horn blasting.

As one train conductor at the time, John Anderson, put it, “They were in their own little world.”

Engineer Michael Anderson blared the train’s horn in an attempt to attract the three friends’ attention, but it was unsuccessful.

“We watched in horror as we got closer,” John heartbreakingly recalled. “We saw them for about 12 seconds until they disappeared from our sight and the train continued moving forward.”

When the train stopped, John ran to the track and discovered that the first girl was not breathing.

Additionally, he learnt the second youngster was dead, and he made his way to Savannah.

Despite her injuries, she was still alive.

“I told her everything would be OK and she relaxed a little,” the conductor reassured the teen.

“I hoped she would make it and for some reason I really thought she would.”