A family outing turned to tragedy last week in Apple Valley, California, when a suspected drunk driver allegedly ran a red light and caused a three-car collision that killed a mother and two of her children.
Felix Valenzuela, 42, was in the car with his wife, Theodora 'Tedi' Wilson, 39, and their children Rosie, 7, and Felix, 6, when Hendrix Arcadio Collado, 43, allegedly T-boned their vehicle. The impact sent the family's car into oncoming traffic.
Valenzuela and his 16-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, survived the crash but sustained life-threatening injuries. Valenzuela suffered serious fractures and internal trauma, while his daughter required emergency surgery for complex spinal and skull injuries. Both remain hospitalized.
Wilson and the two youngest children were pronounced dead at the scene. 'I woke up inside the car with all the airbags deployed,' Valenzuela recounted from his hospital bed, describing how he could not wake his wife or children. 'I looked over at my wife and tried waking her up, shaking her and I got no response. I tried calling out to my kids. They were flopped over and lifeless in their car seats.'
Collado, the driver of the alleged offending vehicle, a 2015 Dodge Caravan, was also hospitalized with major injuries. He has been charged with three counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and two counts of reckless driving causing great bodily injury. Collado has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Authorities initially suspected drugs or alcohol were factors in the collision, though toxicology results have not been publicly confirmed.
Felix Valenzuela described his wife as a dedicated registered nurse and director of labor and delivery at Desert Valley Hospital. 'She will be missed a lot,' he told KTLA News, speaking of his wife of 22 years. 'And my two little babies. I won’t get to see what they could’ve become.'
A GoFundMe page has been established to support Valenzuela and his surviving daughter during their recovery and to help with funeral expenses. As of Thursday afternoon, the fundraiser had raised over $79,100 of its $100,000 goal.