A “close-knit” Texas family of five was killed in a fiery car crash on a Mother’s Day weekend trip — when a truck slammed head-on into their pickup truck on a busy highway.
The Cerda family, including three daughters ages 18 to 26, was headed from Houston to Dallas to celebrate the holiday when a Dodge truck traveling south on Interstate 45 swerved out of its lane and struck a guardrail at around 3:15 p.m. Saturday, according to fire officials and witnesses.
The driver burst through a median and collided with the family’s Ford F-150 as they headed north — causing both trucks to erupt into flames, according to the Centerville Volunteer Fire Department.
Veronica Cerda, 53, her husband Hermenegildo Melendez, 55, along with their daughters Denise Cerda, 26, Rebecca Cerda, 20, and Daniela Cerda, 18, died at the scene of the horrific wreck, fire officials said.
“It just, it rips my heart out because I know they deserve better,” family friend Jillian De Haro told Click 2 Houston.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen to them,” she said. “They were a really close-knit family.”
As a plume of smoke rose from the crash site, a crowd of drivers rushed to help them.
“The fire was raging,” Mujtaba Quadri, who pulled over with his wife, told KHOU 11 News.
“There were at least seven people there, everybody actively just doing something, somebody was dictating what we should do,” he said.
Some of the good Samaritans pulled the driver of the Dodge, Toriano Fair, 42, of Dallas, from his burning truck — but weren’t able to save the family, he told the station.
“Just imagine how we are feeling, like we couldn’t save them,”Quadri said. “Imagine what [Fair] is going to have to go through knowing what happened, and it’s devastating.”
Fair was hospitalized in critical condition, officials said.
De Haro, a friend of the oldest daughter, Denise, called the circumstances of her death heartbreaking.
“She’s one of those best friends that your mom always wants you to have in your life,” she said. “I say the friendship of a lifetime.”
A relative of the family has since launched a GoFundMe page to raise money for their funerals and memorial expenses.
“They were a close-knit and loving family, known for their warmth, kindness and deep love for one another,” the fundraising page declared.
“Their sudden passing has left a deep void in the hearts of everyone who knew them, and their absence will be felt forever.”
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
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