Surviving members of innocent family killed in street-racing crash speak out: "It's a pain that we're always going to have to live with."
GRAND PRAIRIE — The surviving siblings of the Rosales Family are speaking publicly for the first time, since a tragic street-racing crash killed four family members on August 10.
"There's nothing that you can do to bring them back, and it's a pain that we're always going to have to live with," said brother and son Jessie Rosales III.
Jessie Rosales and his sister Natalie Rosales said reality still has not hit them that their family of seven is now only three.
"When we got here to the hospital and we found out that the rest of them were gone. That was really hard, especially to lose everyone just once. Just like that, you know?" Jessie Rosales said.
Police say two drivers were racing each other on Belt Line Road in Grand Prairie. Investigators say one of those drivers crashed into the Rosales car, causing it to flip and catch fire. Both parents, Jessie and Lorena Rosales, their 6-year-old son Angel, and 13-year-old daughter Stephanie all died on the scene. Sixteen-year-old Anthony Rosales was thrown from the car and survived.
"I'm very thankful that my brother's alive and just fighting and he's so strong, you know, he's a living miracle," says Jessie Rosales.
The family says Anthony Rosales was rushed to the ICU with several broken bones including a fractured pelvis, but thankfully he is recovering and shared a message with CBS News Texas from hospital bed.
"I thought I was going to die. When I woke up, I learned that I lost my dad, my mom, my sister, and my little brother. I am thankful for everything. I have a new view on life now," said Anthony Rosales.
The family said the crash this month is not their first encounter with street racing. Natalie and Jessie Rosales said their family was victims of a street racing crash years ago near Grand Prairie on I-30, and never thought they would be in a similar incident a year later.
There is a growing memorial in the place where the Rosales family lost their lives, where people across North Texas have left flowers, toys, and stuffed animals.
The Rosales siblings say they are grateful for all the support and prayers.
"I do want to say to the teachers, to the friends, to everyone who knew them, we really do appreciate them giving our family happy memories, even though it was the last memories," Natalie Rosales said with tears in her eyes.
The siblings share that this September will be an especially hard month because they will not be able to celebrate Loren and Stephanie Rosales' birthdays. They remember their parents as loving and steadfast, sharing that Lorena Rosales was obsessed with the game, Pokemon Go.
They also said Angel was bubbly and bright Stephanie was extremely smart and sweet, winning multiple academic awards.
"It's just crazy that they had so much potential," Natalie Rosales said.
"To everyone who has a family, hold them close and have those good relations, because it's important and you never know when you're going to see them again," said Jessie Rosales.
The siblings share that their brother Anthony Rosales walked for the first time on Monday since the crash, and he's fighting every day to get better and make his family proud.
"He's going to need us and we are going to need him and we're going to hold each other closer than ever," the siblings said.
Grand Prairie police have arrested broth drivers believed to be involved in the crash, 22-year-old Anthony Morales and 20-year-old Jamie Mesa. Both men face multiple manslaughter charges.