The parents of four sisters killed in a horrific car accident earlier this month have spoken out about their heartbreaking loss. On October 6, Tom and Linda King heard the absolutely nightmarish news that all four of their daughters had died in the accident, which occurred in upstate New York.
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A total of 20 people lost their lives when a limousine transporting a group of friends to a birthday party came careening off the road at an intersection outside Amsterdam, New York.
“It’s going to be down the road, three or four months from now, when it really hits us,” Tom King told The New York Times. “You know, your kids go off to college and other places. Sometimes you don’t see them for several months. Eventually, we’ll realize they aren’t coming home.”
The limousine involved in the crash is suspected to have not been roadworthy, and the head of the company that operated the vehicles has since pleaded not guilty to criminally negligent homicide. But for the Kings, the investigation is of little comfort. They were, however, relieved to be informed that their daughters did not suffer during their final moments.
“The coroner told the sheriff that the kids didn’t suffer,” Linda King said. “It was immediate.”
The NTSB has continued to examine the vehicle, but authorities dealing with the evidence cautioned that it will be weeks before a comprehensive conclusion is reached on the cause of the crash, partly due to the ongoing criminal investigation.
“The vehicle is the most important piece of evidence that will help ultimately determine the cause of the crash, and the extent of any criminal wrongdoing,” police spokesman Beau Duffy said in a statement, according to Syracuse.com. “If the NTSB were allowed to handle evidence before it has been fully examined and processed by the state police and the defense, it would jeopardize the criminal case.”
“We anticipate getting everything we need in a timely fashion,” said NTSB spokesman Eric Weiss. “They have a criminal investigation to do. We have to accommodate that.”
Last weekend, hundreds of mourners gathered for a memorial service to celebrate the lives of the four sisters, along with four other husbands and relatives of the family who passed in the crash. The service was held at St Stanislaus Roman Catholic Church in Amsterdam, New York. The Reverend O Robert DeMaritnis presided over the funeral. Shockingly, Rev. DeMaritnis also presided over Amy and Axel Steenburg’s wedding just months earlier in June.
Rev. DeMaritnis said that the couple had asked their wedding guests not to take photos during the celebration but instead to “live in the moment,” according to Sky News.
“That’s what they’re asking me to ask you to do today,” he added.
The pastor then posed a heart-wrenching question: “The question that is in the hearts of so many is: Why? Why did these 20 individuals have to be taken from us so quickly and so unexpectedly?”
Though the answer remains a mystery, he said those in attendance should take solace in the fact that the victims have entered eternal life.