In an instant, Delray Beach crash robbed man of 4 family members

In an instant, the lives of Gilberto Martinez’s wife and their two young children were lost in a Delray Beach crash, and he wasn’t there to say goodbye.

The driver of a pickup tried to swerve into a turn lane to avoid another car before crashing into a minivan, killing Martinez’s wife, Veronica Mariel Raschiotto, 42, and their two children, Diego, 8, and Mia, 6, all of Mexico City, according to a police report.

Also in the minivan on April 28 as it waited to turn off South Federal Highway was Raschiotto’s brother, Jorge Claudio Raschiotto, 50, of Argentina, who also died.

Tuesday, Martinez’s lawyer, Scott B. Smith, of West Palm Beach, said he is representing Gilberto Martinez and is investigating the crash, the condition of the truck and its driver.

Martinez is “devastated,” and at the mention of his wife’s name, “he is overcome with grief, sorrow and pain,” Smith said. “The loss of his entire family at the same exact moment in time is beyond all human comprehension.”

Martinez, 41, of Mexico City, is an attorney who specializes in intellectual property law. Professional commitments kept him home when his wife took their children on trips to visit with aunts, uncles and a grandmother.

Smith called his investigation “a truth-seeking process” and said he wants to get answers for Martinez.

The relatives — Veronica, her kids and her brother — were visiting South Florida for a family reunion. Their Dodge Caravan minivan was waiting to turn east at Lamat Avenue and continue to their rental home when it was struck from behind by a Chevrolet Silverado pickup.

The pickup was driven by Paul W. Streater, 21, of Delray Beach, who told police that while driving south along South Federal Highway, the accelerator became stuck, according to a traffic crash report released by Delray Beach police on Monday night.

Streater had cars traveling to