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| Authorities say 44-year-old Alvin Hubbard, Jr., of Maryland, was driving the pickup truck that slammed into a minivan carrying 61-year-old Audie Trinidad and daughters Kaitlyn, 20; Danna, 17; and Melissa and Allison, 13-year-old twins. |
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From left to right: Audie Trinidad, Danna, Kaitlyn, Melissa, Allison
Father, 4 daughters from Teaneck, New Jersey killed in Delaware crash; Mother survives.
The crash happened just before 4 p.m. on Route 1 near Pine Tree Road
New Jersey (WABC) -- The alleged wrong-way driver in a Delaware crash that killed a father from New Jersey and his four daughters over the weekend has been identified.
Authorities say 44-year-old Alvin Hubbard, Jr., of Maryland, was driving the pickup truck that slammed into a minivan carrying 61-year-old Audie Trinidad and daughters Kaitlyn, 20; Danna, 17; and Melissa and Allison, 13-year-old twins.
The girls' mother, Mary Rose, was the only survivor. She remains hospitalized in fair condition.
The crash happened Friday afternoon on Route 1 in Townsend, Delaware, while the family was returning to their Teaneck home from vacation. Police say the pickup truck crossed over the median and struck a car, causing it to spin out of control, before colliding into the family's minivan.
On Saturday, the heartbroken community in Teaneck gathered for a church service and vigil.
"I don't know what's going to happen with my sister-in-law, how she's going to live by herself," brother-in-law Danny said. "I don't know. She can't take it. All the memories and everything. Her husband is gone. All her kids are gone. I don't know how she's going to handle it."
He said his brother was a "God-fearing man" who loved his family.
"He goes to church every Sunday, loved by his neighbors," he said. "So are the kids. They were loved by their classmates and friends? Why?" Because, this is real life, there is no such as thing as god or fairness in life. We created this world with machines and guns and equipment and fast-moving life and it ends up taking innocent, or unlucky, or other lives. Here, this family was clearly unlucky. RIP.
The girls' classmates organized the vigil, along with the Filipino American Society of Teaneck.
"It's OK to grieve," Teaneck Mayor Mohammed Hameeduddin said. "It's OK look and ask questions where there are no answers."
Hubbard was treated and released from the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. So far, no charges have been filed yet. But we bet that the guy was on drugs or drunk or suffered some-kind of medical emergency.
Mary Rose Trinidad work as a nurse at Beth Israel Hospital. A GoFundMe page was set up to support her recovery.
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Delaware State Police identified the driver of the pickup that crossed the median of Del. 1 Friday causing a multi-vehicle wreck that killed five members of a New Jersey family.
The driver of the Ford F-350 was 44-year-old Alvin Hubbard Jr. of East New Market, Maryland, according to Delaware State Police. No charges have been filed in the fatal accident, police said.
The crash killed Audie Trinidad, 61, and his four daughters, ages 13 to 20. The family's mother, 53-year-old Mary Rose Ballocanag, is still hospitalized in serious condition.
Police also identified the driver of the Mercury Sable hit before Hubbard's truck crashed into the Trinidads' minivan as 24-year old Brian Kern of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Police said he was treated and released at a hospital for non-life threatening injuries.
A state police spokeswoman said there is no definite timeline for the investigation being conducted by the collision reconstruction unit. She said factors in different crashes can extend the amount of time needed to be clear about what happened.
Police said the accident happened around 3:45 p.m. Friday when Hubbard's pickup was traveling southbound on Del. 1 in the area of Noxontown Road. At the same time, Kern was traveling northbound a short distance in front of the Trinidads' Toyota Sienna
Hubbard left the southbound lanes and crossed the grassy median into the northbound lanes of Del. 1, police said. His truck hit Kern's Sable, causing it to spin into an embankment. Hubbard continued out of control, police said, and the Sienna hit his truck.
The impact forced both vehicles off the roadway and into a ditch, police said. Trinidad and Ballocanag were wearing seat belts; none of their daughters were, police said.
Trinidad and his daughters — Kaitlyn, 20; Danna, 17; and 13-year-old twins, Melissa and Allison — all were pronounced dead at the scene.
Daniel Trinidad whose brother Audie Trinidad, was killed in an automobile accident along with his (Audie's) daughters 20-year-old Kaitlyn, 17-year-old Danna, 13-year-old Allison and 13-year-old Melissa. Daniel Trinidad at his brother's home on July 7, 2018. (Photo: Michael Karas/NorthJersey.com)
"How do you bury five people at the same time?" asked Danny Trinidad, Audie Trinidad's brother in an interview Saturday. "This is like a tragedy a hundred times over."
It's believed the family was returning from vacationing in Ocean City, Maryland. Hundreds held a vigil for them in Teaneck, New Jersey, where the family was remembered as close-knit, wholesome, determined and touched by a caring spirit. "Everyone is mourning," said neighbor Brent Zachary Lewis. "I'm praying for the family.
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A New Jersey man and his four daughters were killed in a crash on Friday afternoon in Townsend, Delaware, but the man's wife survived.
TOWNSEND, Delaware --
A New Jersey man and his four daughters were killed in a crash on Friday afternoon in Townsend, Delaware, but the man's wife survived.
The family members were from Teaneck, New Jersey, police say. The father, Audie Trinidad, was 61 years old, and his children include 20-year-old Kaitlyn, 17-year-old Danna and two 14-year-olds, Melissa and Allison.
The girls' 53-year-old mother and Audie's wife, Mary Rose Trinidad, survived the crash and was taken to Christiana Hospital in Newark, Delaware, with serious injuries.
The husband and wife were properly restrained in the vehicle, police say, but their four daughters were not.
"To lose four children in a crash ... it's just unheard of," Delaware State Police Master Corporal Melissa Jaffe said.
Sources tell Eyewitness News Audie Trinidad was a postal worker and Mary Rose is a nurse at Mount Sinai Beth Israel. The oldest daughter, Kaitlyn, was a nursing student at the College of Mount Saint Vincent in the Bronx.
The crash happened just before 4 p.m. on Route 1 near Pine Tree Road
Police say a southbound F-350 pickup truck crossed the median and struck a northbound car, causing it to spin out of control.
The car came to rest on the median, while the pickup truck continued to travel southbound in the northbound lanes and was hit by the Toyota Sienna minivan carrying the New Jersey family.
"I feel so bad for this family. I cannot imagine what they are going through," said Jaffe.
The driver of the pickup, a 44-year-old man from East New Market, Maryland, was treated and released from the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Police say it is not yet known if impairment was a factor.
A passenger in the truck, a 30-year-old man from Hurlock, Maryland, was also treated and released.
The driver of the car, a 24-year-old man from Bethlehem, Pa., was taken to the hospital where he was treated and released.
Northbound Route 1 was shut down in the area of the crash for five hours, but all lanes have since reopened.
Police are interviewing all of the survivors as the investigation into this crash continues.
There is no word on if charges will be filed.
A GoFundMe page was set up to support Mary Rose Trinidad.