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Nov 28, 2008 6:41 pm US/Central
7 Waxahachie Family Members Die In Mexico Crash
Family Drowns When SUV Drives Off Unfinished Bridge In Mexico
OJINAGA, Mexico (CBS 11 News/AP) ―
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This is a photo taken at a birthday party, less than a month ago, of Olga Rey, 27, holding her 2-year-old son Gael and near her 7-year-old daughter, Danielle, on the far right. (Woman dressed as clown is not a family member.)
KTVT / KTXA
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This photo is of 5-year-old David Lopez Hernandez, dressed in the black shirt on the far left, the nephew of Olga Rey, who was also killed in the crash.
KTVT / KTXA
It's been a devastating Thanksgiving holiday for a Waxahachie family. They were traveling in Mexico when their SUV drove off a damaged bridge and into a river. The crash happened early Thursday morning just outside the city of Ojinaga, Chihuahua. Only one passenger survived. The dead are Carlos Rey Madrid, 39; his wife Olga, 27; his mother, Margarita Madrid Gonzalez, 52; Rey's children, Danny Rey, 7, and Gael Rey, 2; Kaylinn Ortiz, 7; and David Lopez Hernandez, 5.
The only survivor of the crash was 52-year-old Adriana Chagoya. Her sister, Rosa Saenz, spoke with CBS 11 News and tearfully told us what her sister encountered on that ill-fated trip."Carlos wasn't driving fast," Saenz explained. "When he tried to stop the car - the car slid into the river."The bridge was damaged from heavy rains that swept through the area over a month ago. Saenz says the driver, Carlos Rey Madrid, didn't know the bridge came to an abrupt end and didn't fully span the Conchos River.
The sport utility vehicle fell upside down into the water.
Saenz says her sister survived because she wasn't wearing a seat belt and managed to swim out of the submerged SUV. "She [Adriana Chagoya] said when the car started to fall, she never let go of the car door."The vehicle was traveling in a caravan. A second sport utility vehicle, driven by Ubaldo Ortiz and following behind, was able to stop in time.
"It was like two in the morning, and we were just arriving at El Mezquite," Ortiz said. "But we fell behind and, when we caught up, we saw the Suburban with its tires in the air."
Ortiz said he and others were only able to save
Chagoya. He said the others drowned because they couldn't be freed from their seat belts in time.
It's a terrible tragedy the family is still finding hard to accept. It's all the more difficult because four of the seven who perished were children - two of whom were elementary school students.
Ortiz' 5-year-old daughter, Kaylinn, is among the dead.
Friday, the emotionally devastated family gathered in mourning. A coffee table served as an alter for those who were lost.
On Saturday, the bodies of the family were returned to Dallas. A memorial service was held for them at their church, Iglesia Jesuscristo Es Mi Refugio. Saenz says her sister told her she tried to save one passenger before swimming from the submerged SUV. "She said she tried pulling her [Margarita Madrid Gonzalez] by her hair to get her out - but she couldn't."Eduardo Esparza, a spokesman for the Chihuahua state prosecutor's office, said there were no signs or barriers keeping traffic off the bridge.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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