TOWNSEND, Del. – Police have identified the man who allegedly drove the wrong way when his pickup truck crashed into a minivan in Delaware on Friday, killing a New Jersey father and his four daughters.
The driver of the Ford F-350 who, for unknown reasons, crossed a grassy median and struck two vehicles was identified as 44-year-old Alvin S. Hubbard Jr. of East New Market, Md., according to Delaware State Police.
Hubbard was transported to a local area hospital where he was treated and released with non-life threatening injuries, police said. He was wearing a seat belt, and it is unknown if driver-impairment was a factor.
The crash remains under investigation by the Delaware State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit. No charges had been filed by press time.
The driver of the 1998 Toyota Sienna minivan, Audie Marquez Trinidad, 61, of Teaneck, was wearing a seat belt and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Delaware State Police.
Also in the van were his four daughters: Kaitlyn, 20; Danna, 17; and 13-year-old twins, Melissa and Allison, all of whom were not properly restrained and pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.
Many in Teaneck have been grieving the loss of five family members who had been returning from a family vacation in Virginia. Their history was called an “American story” by those who knew them, starting with the father, Audi, who had emigrated from the Philippines and served in the U.S. Navy.
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The 53-year-old mother, Mary Rose Ballocanag, who was wearing a seat belt in the front passenger seat, was transported to a local area hospital in Delaware where she was admitted with serious injuries, authorities said. She was reportedly in stable condition on Saturday night.
Hundreds gathered at a memorial service for the Trinidad family on Saturday night. Students at Teaneck High School were also making T-shirts to remember their classmates who were killed in the crash.
Flowers and other notes were left at the Trinidad house for each family member who died.
YouTube
The crash happened at 3:47 p.m. on Route 1 in Townsend, Del. when the 2007 Ford F-350 pickup truck, traveling in the left lane, crossed the grassy center median and hit the family’s minivan and another car, police said.
Hubbard’s passenger, a 30-year-old man from Hurlock, Md., was wearing a seat belt and was also transported to a local area hospital where he was treated and released with non-life threatening injuries, police said.
The operator of the 2002 Mercury Sable, identified as 24-year old Brian C. Kern of Bethlehem Pa., was transported to a local area hospital where he was treated and released with non-life threatening injuries. He was wearing a seat belt and impairment does not appear to be a factor, police said.
The southbound truck had entered the northbound lanes where the Sable was traveling northbound on Route 1, just north of Pine Tree Road. The 1998 Toyota Sienna was traveling a short distance behind the Sable, police said.
The front driver’s side of the F-350 pickup struck the left rear-side of the Sable, causing the Sable to spin out of control and come to a rest in an embankment, police said.
The F-350 pickup continued operating out-of-control southbound in the northbound lanes when the front of the Sienna struck the passenger’s side of the pickup, police said.
The impact caused both vehicles to leave the edge of the roadway and head into a ditch.
Southbound Route 1 in the area of Pine Tree Road was closed for approximately 90 minutes and the northbound lanes were closed for approximately 5 hours while the crash was investigated and cleared.
The crash continues to remain under investigation by the Delaware State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit.
If you or someone you know is a witness of this crash, contact the Delaware State Police Victim Services Unit/Delaware Victim Center at 1800 VICTIM-1 or email the unit director at [email protected].
Crash scene: YouTube photo/video