A MOTHER tragically lost her twin boys in a hit-and-run just eight years after her other son died in a horrific accident.
On July 11, Mollie Egold, 33, was taking a walk with her two-year-old twins, Bradley and Noah, in a stroller near their residence in Maine when an SUV hit them from behind.
Bradley was pronounced dead at the scene while Egold and Noah were taken to a hospital in Portland, reported local CBS affiliate WMGE-TV.
Doctors tried to save Noah, but he was announced as being brain-dead on July 13, according to a GoFundMe created for the family.
He was taken off life support on July 15 after doctors determined that he didn’t have any brain activity.
Martha Collins, the boys’ grandmother, reported that when she arrived, she saw her daughter and the twins on the ground as a bystander was performing CPR in an attempt to revive them.
“He tried so hard to save that baby,” Collins said through tears.
“All of a sudden, I saw them put the blanket over Bradley’s face. And that was it for me. I knew he was gone.”
Since the crash, Egold has undergone two surgeries after receiving multiple broken bones.
“She’s broken. She’s crying,” said Collins.
“My pastor at my church has made sure that every single day, there’s people up there sitting with her and visiting with her.”
In another blow, this isn’t the first time that Egold has suffered a major tragedy after she lost her first son, William, in 2017.
The mother was in a canoe with the five-year-old on a river in North Vassalboro when the speed of the water suddenly picked up.
The canoe was sent over the waterfall, ejecting Egold and William from the boat.
William got caught underwater, but his mother was able to free him before they were thrown over a second waterfall.
Hours later, William died in the hospital.
DRIVER ARRESTED
The driver who struck the family was under the influence during the crash and left the area, said police.
Benjamin Lancaster, 44, was soon taken into custody, identified as the driver involved in the incident. However, he attempted to claim to police that his girlfriend was actually driving at the time, as noted in court records.
But his claims seem to have been disproven through security camera footage, according to police affidavits.
A photo of the car about three miles before the fatal crash shows the vehicle in perfect condition, with police saying that Lancaster was in the driver’s seat at the time.
Another photo shows the same white Hyundai SUV with a huge dent in the front of the car, with Lancaster still driving.
Lancaster was charged with manslaughter, operating a vehicle under the influence causing serious bodily injury, leaving the scene of an accident causing death, and leaving the scene of an accident causing serious bodily injury.
He currently remains at the Kennebec County Jail, said police.
A judge set a $100,000 cash bail with the conditions that he doesn’t drive, not drink or use drugs, submit to random testing, and that he doesn’t contact the victim’s family.
Collins expressed her outrage at Lancaster, saying he “took away our babies.”
“That man should be charged with murder, not manslaughter,” she said.
“This is murder. He murdered my babies.”
A family friend created a GoFundMe for the family, which currently sits at more than $50,300 at the time of writing.
