I posted Friday on the terrible accident that occurred on the I-5 near my home. Initial reports were bad enough, with two small children dead, but this morning's news is even worse. All three of the family's children, age 3, 4 & 5 perished. Here's some info on the family:
Lori Coble beamed as she posed for the camera with her husband and their three small children. Katie was still a baby, perched on Lori's hip. Kyle and Emma – in matching white shirts, jeans and flip-flops – grinned as they crowded on their dad Chris' lap.I can't imagine the heartbreak that family is feeling this morning. One moment you're driving down the freeway on a routine family errand, and the next there's a grinding crash and your children are gone. What a nightmare.
"Kyle, Katie and Emma – the crazy monkeys" as the Ladera Ranch family's Web site proclaimed. The kids grew up so fast.
The dream was abruptly shattered about 1:10 p.m. Friday when a big-rig slammed into the back of the family's 2006 Chrysler Town & Country minivan on the southbound Santa Ana (I-5) Freeway north of Oso Parkway.
The three Coble kids were in the back of the minivan, strapped into car seats and booster seats. Lori was driving. Grandmother Cynthia Maestri was in the front passenger seat.
Two-year-old Katie and 5-year-old Kyle were rushed to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo. Katie died just before 2 p.m. Four-year-old Emma died minutes later at Saddleback Memorial Hospital in Laguna Hills, California Highway Patrol officer Katrina Lundgren said.
All lanes of the freeway were shut down while a LifeFlight helicopter landed on the freeway for about five minutes to pick up the critically injured Maestri. She was airlifted to Western Medical Center. Lori was rushed by paramedics to the same hospital with critical injuries.
At Mission, Kyle was rushed into surgery. Doctors did everything they could. He died at 8:52 p.m.
Not only is this a tragedy for the family, but many others who witnessed the accident or who responded from emergency services will live with this a long time:
Friday afternoon traffic had slowed to a crawl near Oso Parkway. The silver Chrysler minivan was stopped in the slow lane as the cars headed south stacked up.And the horrors are just beginning. Burying your children is terrible enough, but what's it going to be like for these parents to come home to house full of children's toys, clothes and memories, and the dreadful silence of a home that used to ring with laughter and the shouts of small voices? This is one of those moments when you wonder how God could let something like this happen.
The black-and-white big-rig came up behind the Chrysler between 55 and 60 mph, according to what the driver later told California Highway Patrol investigators. Packed with electronics, the big-rig didn't stop and slammed into the back of the minivan, driving through the backseat of the Chrysler where the children were sitting.
The semi drove through the back of the minivan, crushing it and pushing it into a Chevy Tahoe that was stopped ahead, CHP officer Katrina Lundgren said.
Andy Tran, 32, who installs blinds for a living in Santa Ana, grabbed his tools and tried to get the children out of the car. Glass was everywhere. Kyle was bleeding. The car seats were mangled.
There was little Tran and others could do. He pulled out a blue blanket and laid it down – a touch of comfort for the victims.
"I've seen a lot of accidents, but this is the worst one I've ever seen," Tran said. "Just seeing the kids. I can't forget it."
A firefighter chaplain in full gear hugged bystanders and offered comfort (pictured here). Firefighters were teary-eyed. The van's vanity license plates "MEMOMMY" crumpled under the wreckage.
Pray for them. If I hear of a memorial fund I'll let you know.
UPDATED: Another story on the Coble family and the truck driver involved in the wreck.
UPDATE 5/7: Here's the memorial information for the Coble family:
To help the family
Donations for the Coble family can be made at any Washington Mutual, or mail a check to Washington Mutual, 25692 Crown Valley Parkway, Suite J2, Ladera Ranch, 92694, attention James Maestri FBO Coble Family, account 3951107470. For more information, go to www.lifetomotion.com.
If you'd like to contribute or reach out to the Coble family in some other way, the Rev. Roger Rustad can be reached at roger.rustad@stjoe.org
Services
Funeral services for the Coble children will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Presbyterian Church of the Master, at 26051 Marguerite Parkway in Mission Viejo. The family has requested that no children be present at the service, said the Rev. Roger Rustad, a chaplain at Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo.
Related posts:
After the Funeral Comes the Lawyers - 5/12/07
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