ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - A Gwinnett County family is dealing with a tremendous loss this week, as they remember the eight loved ones killed in a fiery crash on Monday on Interstate 85 in Jackson County.
Eva Velasquez-Benitez said her son, Darwin Ventura, had been driving the family to go shopping during the time of the crash, and woke up Tuesday to learn the news.
“It’s terrible. I don’t know how I’m going to be without Darwin, because it’s my only family, I only have two children,” Velasquez-Benitez, mother and grandmother to two of the victims, said. “I can’t believe it, I feel like I’m in a bad dream.”
Georgia State Patrol said a semi truck had been following the family’s van too closely when it hit them, which caused a chain reaction with four more vehicles. However, the