Relatives of Salvadoran family killed in Georgia crash left reeling from tragedy

TEPETITAN, El Salvador (AP) — Parents, siblings, aunts, nephews and other relatives of a Salvadoran family of eight who died in the fiery crash of a semitrailer and a van in Georgia this week struggled to wrap their minds around the tragedy on Wednesday as they hoped that the bodies of their lost loved ones would soon be repatriated to the Central American nation.

The family died on the way to shop at a local mall on Monday afternoon when a tractor-trailer collided with their van, according to law enforcement. Their van burst into flames and killed 42-year-old Maribel Ramírez, and her five children, Justin, Andy, Natali, Evan and Kenia, who was three months pregnant. The crash also claimed the lives of Kenia’s husband Darwin and her 3-year-old son.
Most in the van were children.

Georgia State Patrol arrested the driver of the tractor-trailer, 33-year-old Kane Aaron Hammock, and he was charged with eight counts of second-degree vehicular homicide and one count of second-degree feticide by vehicle, Franka Young, a spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Public Safety, said in an email Tuesday afternoon. Hammock has also been charged with counts of following too closely, no registration and failure to exercise due care.