A joyful family trip to Arizona in celebration of a college graduation ended in heartbreak when 4-year-old twin sisters lost their lives in a devastating car accident.
The tragic incident occurred shortly after 8 a.m. on May 22, when the California Highway Patrol responded to a collision involving two vehicles on the eastbound State Route 62 near Freda in San Bernardino County.
Traveling in one of the vehicles were Sergio Leon, his brother Antonio Leon, Antonio’s wife Hermina Hernandez, and their twin daughters, Nyah and Naomi.
“We had family members beginning to gather. As they were arriving, the family — Sergio, Antonio, Nyah, Naomi, and Mini — never made it,” shared family cousin Itzia Zamarripa with FOX26.
Concern mounted among relatives when the family failed to arrive at the graduation ceremony as expected.
Authorities from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that the twin sisters were declared deceased at the scene.
Zamarripa later received a call indicating the missing family may have been involved in the crash.
“This car so happened to go into, hit the back of the truck as they entered into the lane, and ended up perpendicular to my cousin,” Zamarripa said. “So my cousins had no time to react at all.”
“They t-boned that car and immediately burst it into flames,” she added.
Zamarripa said three of the five victims had been identified, and officials confirmed the car belonged to her relatives. “We’re numb. We’re just, it’s been devastating,” Zamarripa said.
The tragedy happened just days before the twins were supposed to graduate from preschool on June 3.
“The outpour of support from everybody has been great,” she said. “So many people have been affected by their, by this loss.”
The investigation remains ongoing.
