New Jersey woman survives crash that killed husband, 4 daughters

ware State Police. Now trav- eling in the wrong direction, the truck clipped a white The weeklong trip to Ocean sedan, spun out of control City, Maryland, was the real and ended up directly in the start of summer for the Trin- path of the Trinidads’ 1999 idads, the latest iteration of a Toyota Sienna minivan. sun-, crab- and family-filled Passers-by poured onto tradition that had endured the highway in an attempt even as four daughters hurto save the occupants of the tled toward adulthood. battered van, but it was too

Kaitlyn, 20, was already late. All four daughters died in college, and 17-year-old in the in the back of the vehiDanna, who played on her cle, 150 miles from home. high school’s volleyball team, None of them were wear- was headed there in the fall. ing seat belts.

The two youngest, 13-yearAlso pronounced dead was old twins Melissa and Allison, their father, Audie Trinidad, were starting high school in who’d come to the United a few months and planned States from the Philippines to try out for the team. in the 1980s, asked a woman

But Friday afternoon, their from his home country to be plans were cut short. his wife and set down roots

With the family about two in Teaneck. hours from home in Teaneck, His wife, Mary Rose BalNew Jersey, a heavy-duty locanag, 53, was the only pickup on the other side of person in the van who surHighway 1 crossed the grassy vived. She was being treated median in Townsend, Del- at Christiana Hospital for broaware, according to Dela- ken ribs, arms and legs, her family members said. But their biggest concern was not her physical injuries.

People close to the family had set up a GoFundMe account that had raised more than $96,000 in less than 24 hours. Still, the organizers said, it was unclear what any amount could do in the face of such unspeakable loss.

A recovering Ballocanag, who is a nurse at a Manhattan hospital, had called a friend to relay the news about her family from her own hospital bed, family members recounted to reporters:

“They’re all gone,” she said.

No one else was seriously injured in the crash. Authorities are not sure what caused 44-year-old Albert Hubbard to lose control of the red pickup truck. He was not immediately charged with a crime, and investigators are trying to determine whether he was somehow impaired.