Thrift Store Opens In Memory Of Twins Killed In Crash

CHICAGO (CBS)--At just 26-years-old, the lives of twin sisters Abril and Brisa Delapaz were cut short on an Illinois road when the car they were in slammed into the back of a semi-truck flatbed trailer.

The young women--described by loved ones as inseparable--hadn't been drinking before the crash that claimed their young lives late at night in May 2017 at 103rd Street and Commercial Avenue, and friends and family have come up short for answers.

Their mother, Lucy Delapaz is finding her own way to heal, however, by opening a thrift shop in the memory of her daughters, who she said always dreamed of opening a business to help others.

"For me--part of me was gone," Delapaz said.

The thought of opening the shop was too painful for the year following their deaths, but the grieving mother finally found the space in her heart and the courage to honor her daughters the way she wanted to.

At first glance, the thrift store in Chicago's Hegewisch Neighborhood seems like a typical storefront, but the shop is much more because it embodies the memories of the young women, who their family says always put others ahead of themselves.

The store at 13256 S. Brandon Ave. is lovingly named "Brisa De Abril." The twins' brother, Pablo Delapaz, delivers donated items collected by the shop to local homeless shelters.

The family either gives everything else away or sells it for a low price.

"I feel like--their spirits are here," she said.