A father is recounting the devastating moment he learned his wife and two young children died in a horrific car crash in Apple Valley, California. Felix Valenzuela, his wife Theodora Wilson, 39, and their three children were traveling eastbound when a vehicle allegedly ran a red light and collided with another car, which then struck the Valenzuela family's vehicle.
Valenzuela and his 16-year-old daughter survived the collision with severe injuries, but his wife, 7-year-old son Felix, and 6-year-old daughter Rose all died at the scene. Valenzuela, visibly emotional and wearing a neck brace in a hospital bed, described the profound grief he is experiencing.
"My injuries are nothing compared to what my kids went through, and my wife," Valenzuela said in an interview. He recounted the severity of his eldest daughter's injuries, stating she was "basically decapitated" but underwent surgery to reattach her head. "Her skull came off of her… spine, like, completely dislocated. But they were able to… do some surgery and… fix her up, I guess, like put her head back together."
The driver of the vehicle accused of running the red light has been identified as Hendrix Arcadio Collado, 43, of Hesperia. He faces charges including three counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and two counts of reckless driving causing great bodily injury. Authorities are investigating whether drugs or alcohol played a role in the crash, though Collado was initially charged with driving under the influence of drugs. "I know he didn’t do it on purpose, but you shouldn’t be driving under the influence, period," Valenzuela stated.
A GoFundMe campaign has been established to support the family, with a goal of $100,000. As of Wednesday, the fundraiser had garnered nearly $79,000.
"They killed three people in my family," Valenzuela lamented. "Three innocent people who didn’t deserve to die." He added, "My heart is more broken than anything."