Uniondale family grieving loss of father, 2 children in Sunrise Highway crash
UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- A family from Uniondale is trying to cope with the unthinkable -- multiple lives lost and critical injuries following a Sunday evening stop for ice cream in Massapequa.
Tauris McBride is mourning the children he helped raise with their mother and his fiancee, Tasheba Huntley.
"To have this happen is unspeakable. So, you leave home with five kids in the house, and now there's none," he said.
McBride and Huntley were co-parenting along with the children's biological father, Patrice Huntley, who was killed in the crash.
Hannah, 13, and Jeremiah, 10, also died when a speeding car, police say, rear-ended them near a grocery store stoplight on Sunrise Highway.
"It's like a dream, frankly. It's unimaginable," McBride said.
Now, 18-year-old Brienna and grandchild 6-year-old Chantel are fighting for their lives, undergoing multiple surgeries for severed organs and critical blood loss.
They were on their way for ice cream celebrating Patrice's job promotion and Jeremiah's birthday.
Their close-knit neighbors are trying to help.
"They're just wonderful people. Very tragic situation that happened. So, it's just unimaginable. We are grieving with them," said neighbor Leon Bradley.
"Heart-wrenching. I am really surprised. I just really hope and pray for the family that there is some type of resolution to this," said neighbor Mitzie Lewis.
"David was the 14-year-old, he was in the vehicle. He said that ... apparently two cars were racing. And then Pat said something like, 'Oh my gosh,' in response to that car passing. That's when I guess one of the cars lost control and slammed into the back. We want both these people punished," McBride said.
Nassau Police say the investigation is thorough and ongoing and that we will learn more about the cause and charges in the coming days.
Meanwhile, Patrice Huntley is being remembered as an armed forces veteran who worked to find other vets civilian jobs.
"We started a GoFundMe. Obviously we have to bury our children. We have to bury Pat. And then Brienna and Chantel are going to have years and years of rehab and therapy," McBride said.