Parents killed, daughters injured in crash on Disney vacation
The small eastern Missouri town of Leadwood was trying to come to terms Monday with a crash on Interstate 4 that left a couple dead and their two young daughters severely injured.
Greg and Sarah Moyers had been saving for months to take the girls to Florida, friends said. They visited Walt Disney World and Universal Studios and were on their way to the beach on Sunday when the devastating crash happened.
A Ford Focus drifted into their lane near DeLand, causing their Nissan to veer off the road and hit a tree about 12:30 p.m., a Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman said. Both parents were killed.
Their girls, Haley, 13, and Sophia, 8, were taken to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Women in Orlando with serious injuries. On Monday evening, a hospital official said Haley was in critical
condition and Sophia was stable.
“All they ever wanted to do was give their kids a good life and show them what it was like to go on vacation,” said Landon Hahn, a family friend who is dating Greg Moyers’ niece.
Some relatives have traveled to Orlando to help care for the girls. Other community members are organizing fundraisers.
“Everybody down here is willing to help those kids, no matter what it takes,” Hahn said.
The driver of the Ford, Charles King, 43, of New London, N.C., wasn’t injured.
“The crash remains under investigation and charges are pending,” said Sgt. Kim Montes, a Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman.
Haley, Sophia and their parents headed for Florida on Thursday and were on the last leg of their trip before the long drive home to Leadwood.
One of the last things they posted to Facebook was a family photo at Disney with Buzz Lightyear from the “Toy Story” movies.
“Their kids were their world. They were very involved and supportive parents and just wanted the best for them. They wanted the girls to experience Disney and the beach,” said Loni Burnside Eaton, a close friend. “I can’t believe this really happened.”
The couple were raising five children together, including two they had taken in for Sarah’s sister. They were giving people and always offering help to others, Eaton said.
“The girls don’t know what happened to them [their parents] yet. Everyone is on their way down there and that’s when they’ll tell them,” Eaton said Sunday through tears. “It’s just devastating.”
Sarah Moyers worked as a manager at a McDonald’s and Greg Moyers owned a muffler shop, which is a central part of the small community where they’ve lived for more than 20 years and a place where they held gettogethers and cookouts.
Before he left, Greg Moyers wrote a post on the shop’s Facebook page letting customers know that it would be closed for about a week.
“Ok. I hope this is for vacation. You guys need it,” one customer wrote.
“Just for a short vacation,” Moyers responded.
Now the page is filled with prayers and words of sympathy.
The couple were “the rock” of their close-knit family, said Sarah Moyers’ stepmother, Cheryl Neeley. They hosted Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners at their home and were the people others would lean on.
“They just clicked when they met,” Neeley said. “They were amazing together. It’s going to leave a big void in our family and also in the community because everyone knew them and loved them.”
A friend has set up a fundraiser for the children at gofundme.com/ 4gregandsarah.
“It’s going to leave a big void in our family and also in the community because everyone knew them and loved them.” Cheryl Neeley, stepmother of Sarah Moyers