A family of five died in a horrific car crash in Texas, while one person survived with critical injuries. This happened on Saturday, May 10, on Interstate 45, according to PEOPLE.
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Car Crash Kills Family Of 5 In Texas
55-year-old Hermenegildo Cerda was driving with his wife, 53-year-old Veronica Cerda, and his daughters, 26-year-old Veronica Denise Cerda, 20-year-old Rebecca Cerda, and 18-year-old Daniela Cerda. He was driving a 2023 Ford F-150 when their vehicle collided with a 2016 Dodge pickup truck.
43-year-old Toriano Fair was driving the truck and was the only survivor of the devastating wreck. The impact killed all five members of the Cerda family, per the fire department’s statement.
“At 3:17 PM on Saturday, May 10, firefighters were dispatched to a major vehicle accident at the northbound 157 mile marker,” it wrote. “Rescue 3534 was first to arrive on scene and found a two vehicle head-on accident with both vehicles on fire.”
The press release noted that Fair sustained serious injuries. First responders took him to St. Joseph Regional Hospital in Bryan, Texas. “Unfortunately, 5 patients were unable to be saved and were pronounced deceased on scene by the Justice of the Peace,” it continued.
Firefighters managed to extinguish the inferno that sparked from the vehicle crash. The Centerville Volunteer FD and Leona Volunteer FD “worked together to extinguish the fire and recover the patients.”
KHOU reported that reports of the accident came up at 3:17 PM, marking northbound 157 as the spot. The pickup truck was traveling southbound on I-45. It then “went off the roadway to the right and struck a guard rail, then went across the roadway into the center median, over the cable barrier and struck the Ford F-150 traveling northbound.”
Bystanders Helped Save A Victim Of The Deadly Car Crash
A bystander of the accident got out of his car to try and help the victims. “There were at least seven people there,” said Mujtaba Quadri to the outlet. “Everybody actively just doing something, somebody was dictating what we should do.”
Quadri, in an attempt to quell the flames, tried to use his water bottle on the fire. This barely made a dent in the fire. “The fire was raging,” recalled Quadri. “I wish I was able to see the other people [in the truck] because I was on the driver’s side, I only saw that one person.”
Luckily, more witnesses offered to help. They managed to get the pickup driver on a stretcher made of blankets. The bystanders successfully pulled him from the wreckage and said he was “conscious and mumbling.”
“Just imagine how we are feeling, like we couldn’t save them and imagine what he’s going to have to go through knowing what happened, and it’s devastating,” Quadri continued.
“If I was in their situation, it would give me solace at least, to know that there were random strangers out there helping my family.”