Daughter, sister of wrong way-crash victims describes 'nightmare' situation
NORTH MASSAPEQUA, Long Island (WABC) -- Family members of the victims of Tuesday's wrong-way crash on the Southern State Parkway are struggling with the tragedy.
"No one's been able to sleep or get any type of rest in the house. It feels unreal. It feels like it's a nightmare," said Marisol Romero, of Hempstead.
Romero's father, Ruben Sanchez-Flores, and her sister, Ivis Sanchez-Cordova, were killed in the crash. Her other sister Nadia Sanchez-Cordova, 44, is in critical condition at the hospital.
"We're sad, we're hurt," Romero said.
Romero said Sanchez-Flores, a taxi driver, was driving her two sisters and another woman from Hempstead, Edith Magana, 56, to their job at a factory in Farmingdale early Tuesday morning.
State police said Marvin Balcaseres was driving the wrong way on the Southern State Parkway when he crashed into their SUV in North Massapequa around 5:10 a.m.
RELATED | 4 dead, 1 critical in wrong-way head-on crash on Southern State Parkway
Balcaseres was also killed.
Eyewitness News reporter Kristin Thorne attempted to speak with those who knew Balcaseres at his house in Farmingdale on Wednesday, but people there declined to comment.
Family members of Magana at her apartment in Hempstead declined comment as well.
Romero said her sister Ivis Sanchez-Cordova came to the United States from Honduras with her two young children one year ago.
She said her surviving sister, Nadia Sanchez-Cordova, had surgery in the hospital on Wednesday as she attempts to recover from severe blood loss.
Romero said her father was the rock of their family.
"He was a hardworking man. He cared for his entire family and he was the one that everyone came to when everyone needed something," she said.
Romero said the family is trying to raise money to send his body back to Honduras.
"Every time we spoke about any tragedies, he always said he would want to be back into his country, so we're trying to send him," she said.
If you would like to help the family, visit their GoFundMe.
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