A New Jersey mother who was the sole survivor of a horrific car crash that claimed her husband and four daughters earlier this month is speaking out for the first time.
On July 6, Mary Rose Ballocanag, 53, lost her husband Audie Trinidad, 61, and her daughters Kaitlyn, 20, Danna, 17 and 13-year-old twins Allison when a wrong-way truck driver smashed into their minivan on Route 1 in Delaware.
‘When Audie, Kaitlyn, Danna, Melissa and Allison died, part of me died,’ Ballocanag told The New York Post on Saturday.
On July 6, Mary Rose Ballocanag, 53, lost her husband and four daughters when a truck crossed the medium and smashed right into the family’s minivan
‘When Audie, Kaitlyn, Danna, Melissa and Allison died, part of me died,’ Ballocanag told reporters on Saturday (pictured)
‘And I’m dying inside over and over again,’ she added.
Ballocanag made the comments while receiving treatment at Kessler Rehabilitation Center in Saddle Brook just days after being released from the hospital.
The devastated widow has undergone six surgeries for her injuries, which included five fractures to her arms and legs, and is still needs assistance with simple tasks.
According to the Post, Ballocanag said she plans to sue the driver, Alvin S. Hubbard Jr., whose truck veered across the median and smashed into her family’s car.
Authorities have not charged Hubbard citing their ongoing investigation into the incident.
‘Justice will not bring them back,’ the mom said. ‘But we will be in a safer place.’
Friends and extended family have rallied behind Ballocanag and are helping her with funeral arrangements and financial considerations.
Danna, 17; Allison, 13; Kaitlyn, 20; and Melissa, 13 and were killed in a car crash along with their father Audi Marquez Trinidad (C)
Friends and extended family have rallied behind Ballocanag and are helping her with funeral arrangements and expenses
Her brother-in-law said, however, there would be no service until Mary could attend.
‘We don’t want to do it without her,’ said Daniel Trinidad. ‘As long as she can be in a wheelchair, we can have it.’
Trinidad, his mother, brother and sister had been traveling six or seven hours to visit Mary and come back home to Mary’s home in Teaneck, New Jersey, where they are all staying.
Her brother-in-law Daniel Trinidad said, however, there would be no service until Mary (pictured) could attend
He told the News Journal there was a lot of heartache to work through as the family processed their massive loss.
‘They’re all gone,’ he said of his brother and nieces. ‘Why do you have to take all five of them, leave one, please.
‘But I guess God is very short on angels – he needs them now.
The Trinidad family had been coming back from vacation in Ocean City, Maryland, when their lives were cut short.
They were traveling northbound on Route 1 in Delaware just before 4pm on July 6, when a maroon pickup truck travelling southbound crossed the center median into oncoming traffic – slamming into the family’s white Toyota Sienna minivan.
Officials said the Ford pickup, driven by Hubbard Jr, 44, first hit the rear driver’s side of a 2002 Mercury Sable, which was being driven by Brian Kern, 24, of Bethlehem, PA.
The collision forced the Mercury Sable to spin out of control.
The truck then rammed directly into the Trinidad family’s 1998 Toyota Sienna.
Photos from the scene showed the minivan with its roof ripped off and a tarp covering the inside of the vehicle.
The family have launched a GoFundMe to help pay for the Mary’s medical expenses and her family’s funerals.
The grieving widow says she plans to sue the driver, Alvin S. Hubbard Jr. in the coming weeks
Photos from the scene showed the minivan with its roof ripped off and a tarp covering the inside of the vehicle.