Sadly, sometimes even carseats are not enough...Warning - sad

tjham · May 6, 2007

Friday afternoon there was a terrible car accident in California. All three of their children, ages 5,4 and 2 were killed. Please pray for the family to have strength in the upcoming days as they cope with the loss of their children. Take a little extra time to hug your babies tight and appreciate how precious they are.

Article about the crash:

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1681224.php

Photos of the family:

http://www.lifetomotion.com/login/coble/album/1/index.html

chaoticoctopus · May 6, 2007

:crying:

You can make donations to the family:

How to help the Coble family

Donations for the Coble family can be made at any Washington Mutual, or mail a check to Washington Mutual, 25692 Crown Valley Parkway, Suite J2, Ladera Ranch, 92694, attention James Maestri FBO Coble Family, account 3951107470. For more information, go to www.lifetomotion.com, which will be updated sometime Sunday.

scatterbunny · May 6, 2007

OMG. I am sitting here with tears running down my face.

That poor family. How can you even move on with living life after your 3 children are taken like that?

This is one more reason that city driving scares the CRAP out of me, and why I like living in a small town. Not to say something like that couldn't happen here, we do have lots of big rigs (mainly log trucks and big farm trucks), but we don't have the stop-and-go traffic gridlocks like big cities do, so presumably less risk for high-speed rear-end crashes.

Looking at the pictures, specifically #2 of the slideshow, showing the silver T&C the family was in, does it look like all three kids must have been in the third row? Maybe not, since even the front passengers were hurt, so some of the kids could have been in the middle, but the article makes it sound like they were in the way back, or at least that's the impression I got. And the picture just looks like the third row is gone. Pushed right up into the middle row.

The family's website has me in tears again.

What a beautiful family. The daddy/kid pics really get me...

CandCfam · May 6, 2007

:crying:
Seeing that van (same make and model and color as ours) and reading that report - is almost too much for me to take in. I cannot imagine what that family is going through.

I don't even know what to pray for except for comfort for the family.

jn__ · May 6, 2007

well there's no use nitpicking. this pisses me off. That poor family

Looks like a square collision, like the jerk didn't even TRY to avoid hitting her.

I thought they sounded like they were in the way back too, but who knows. Doesn't matter now.

Jeanum · May 6, 2007

:crying: So sad.

Suzibeck · May 6, 2007

So sad, reminds me of an accident here last winter where a semi pulled out in front of a mini-van on bad roads. The van drove under the semi eliminating the front and middle rows of the van. The driver (dad) and two kids were killed and two other kids, presumably in the 3rd row, suffered critical injuries. Yes, some accidents are just not surviveable.

broken4u05 · May 6, 2007

Very sad

lovinwaves · May 6, 2007

This makes me think......
Would extended harnessing have saved them?
Would a different vehicle have saved them?
Maybe even a different model of minivan?
Are there high speed rearend crash tests performed?

MsFacetious · May 6, 2007

There was an accident here a few weeks ago where a Ford Explorer was rear ended by a box truck. The 18 month old died, the officer on the scene believes she would have survived rear facing. The 11 month old and 4 year old were seriously injured but lived.

There was also one where the Mom, and 6, 7, 8 year old hit a dump truck head on in a Hyundai and they all died.

This is also the same make, model and color of van as mine... freaks me out too. Makes me sick.

oxeye · May 6, 2007

I read this earlier today when the OP first posted it and it is still just haunting me.

I can't imagine what those poor parents are going through.

And the truck driver saying he couldn't stop in time?? What was he doing so that he couldn't stop in time? Following too closely? Not paying attention? I grew up in the bay area so have been in tons of traffic where it goes from 65mph to a complete stop very quickly. A truck driver in an area where this happens frequently should know better and always drive slowly and leave tons of room. I know I'm speculating a lot here about what the driver was doing but I'm so angry about it.

Shelsy · May 6, 2007

I would just die. That is the most awful thing I've heard about in a very very long time. And we all know the world has dished up some bad news lately. How horribly tragic. It's killing me to think of everyone involved. That mother and father. Oh, man.

My dad tells me (he's a truck driver) that car drivers are constantly cutting him off without enough room for him to stop safely. He leaves giant cushions of space in front of him, only to have cars zip in there and fill them up. He wishes people knew how long it takes to stop a semi - but most people don't ever think about it.

This situation is so tragic. I'm sure that driver is killing himself with guilt. There are a million ways to do things differently, it's just a shame none of them can undo the horrible past.

This is going to haunt me for a long time. That family was just so beautiful, too. Awful.

Patriot201 · May 6, 2007

OMG.

I will keep the Coble family in my thoughts and prayers.

ThreeBeans · May 6, 2007

The article said the truck ran THROUGH the minivan, OVER the babies in the seat. Nothing could have saved them. It's just too horrible :crying:

Amaris · May 6, 2007

Ok, not reading the article because I know I would have nightmares......but I am keeping the family in my prayers. From reading the posts I'm very upset and I get the feeling from the posts that there are pics so I'm definately not looking in my hormonal state. That does make you hug your own little ones and be thankful everyday that you have them.

Lys · May 6, 2007

Here's an update to the crash.
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1682438.php
California Highway Patrol officials say the driver of the tractor-trailer, Jorge Miguel Romero, 37, was traveling 55-60 mph just before the crash. An initial investigation turned up no mechanical problems with the big-rig.

Romero was not cited, but CHP officials have not ruled out charges, saying an investigation will take several weeks to complete.

Court records show Romero has been cited twice, in 2002 and 2006, for speeding in a tractor-trailer. He was ticketed for driving without his lights on in 2005 and for driving on a suspended license in 1997.

The big-rig, carrying a load of electronics, is owned by KW Express, a Carson-based hauling company. Data from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration show that on a scale of 100, the firm has a driver safety score of 74, meaning 74 percent of companies rank higher in that safety category. The score is not considered deficient, however, and further details on the safety record were not immediately available

MsFacetious · May 6, 2007

Lovely. Can you say lawsuit? Truck company was obviously negligent... when you have people operating big rigs, 1 speeding ticket should be enough to fire them in my opinion. But then we see this a lot here. Semis going to fast that roll and blow things up, kill people, ect. So I think there should be no tolerance for this.

AdventureMom · May 7, 2007

Oh god. I feel like I'm going to be sick...

This is awful. As if that's not enough, I read that the service will be this Saturday, May 12 - the day before Mother's Day.

How tragic.

AdventureMom · May 7, 2007

scatterbunny said:
Looking at the pictures, specifically #2 of the slideshow, showing the silver T&C the family was in, does it look like all three kids must have been in the third row? Maybe not, since even the front passengers were hurt, so some of the kids could have been in the middle, but the article makes it sound like they were in the way back, or at least that's the impression I got. And the picture just looks like the third row is gone. Pushed right up into the middle row.

Did you see #4? It looks like the grill of the rig is sitting almost between the two front seats... Is that what that is - that white part? Just terrible. Really makes me want to leave about 10-15 feet between me and the car in front when there's a trafffic jam. Don't know if that would've helped...

Click to expand...

Loves2sing · May 7, 2007

:crying: This is the most horrific accident I have ever seen. My heart aches for this poor family. I am praying for everyone who loved those kids. If it was my kids, I am sure I would be thinking it would be better off if I had died too. It is so hard to hear of this, when we all take our children's safety in a car so seriously. I don't think ERF, the right seat anything, really could have saved these kids. The thing I don't understand is why they were all in the backseat? Of all the families I know with minivans, then captain's seats in the middle are always used over the rear bench. Not that this means the family did anything wrong, but the safest position would have been in the middle seats.

Sadly, sometimes even carseats are not enough...Warning - sad

New member

Member

New member

New member

New member

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus

Active member

New member

New member

New member

New member

New member

Car-Seat.org Ambassador

New member

New member

Senior Community Member

New member

Senior Community Member

Senior Community Member

New member

Car-Seat.Org Facebook Group

Sponsors

Forum statistics