GRIEF struck the relatives and friends of a Filipino family whose five members lost their lives in a vehicular crash in Delaware, United States.
Only the mother, Mary Rose Trinidad, survived after a truck crossed over a grassy center median, sideswiped a car and smashed into the family’s minivan, news website reports stated.
She lost her husband Audie, 61, and their four daughters Kaitlyn, 20, Danna, 17, and twins Allison and Melissa, 13.
The family who lived in Teaneck, a township in Bergen county in New Jersey, were on their way back from a vacation in Virginia when the crash happened on Friday.
Police in Delaware state are investigating the crash.
No charges have been filed against the truck driver, a Maryland man, who was treated and released from hospital.
The four daughters were not wearing seat belts, police said.
Mourning relatives, friends and neighbors held a vigil at a park in Teaneck on Saturday.
Audie Trinidad was described by a brother as “a family man, a God-fearing man and a yes man to his wife,” while a neighbor described the Trinidads as a “close-knit family.”
Audie and Mary Rose came to America from the Philippines more than 30 years ago. Audie served seven years in the United States Navy and became a postal worker.
A GoFundMe page has been set up by a family friend to help Mary Rose as she recovers./PN
