DAVIS, Calif. — Days after four people were killed in a Manteca car crash, the family is helping each other on the road to recovery.
Natalie Negrete, 17, is the eldest child of the family and is taking care of her three siblings in the hospital with the help of extended family after the tragedy.
“The cops came to my house and I was confused,” she said. “Then they were crying, and they just told me that my dad died and he started telling me that my whole family is either dead or fighting for their lives in the hospital.”
The crash happened on westbound Highway 120 east of Van Ryn Avenue around 10 p.m. Saturday when the driver lost control and sent the car flipping and catching on fire, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Two adults and two minors in the vehicle were pronounced dead at the scene, including the driver and an infant. A total of seven people were in the vehicle, all part of the same family from Livermore.
Those who died were identified by the coroner as: Arriaga Bonifacio Negrete, 44, Liliana Guerrero Mendoza, 40, Jorge Negrete Guerrero, 12, and David Negrete Guerrero, 4 months old.
“I can't even process it, I don't even know who to think about,” said Natalie Negrete. “(My dad) just wanted nothing but the best for us. He was working so hard to get a house where — he was so close, so close to getting a house. He loved us like crazy, my dad would go out of his way to help people.”
She says her parents and five siblings were coming home to Livermore from a quinceañera.
“They have been planning it for a week like they were excited to go,” she said.
It was an event she was supposed to go to with everyone else, but started feeling unwell overnight so she stayed home.
“I was fine, it was weird,” said Natalie Negrete.
CHP says good Samaritans rushed to save those in the crash, leaving two at UC Davis Medical Center recovering.
“One is in a coma. My sister is — she has major injuries, but… she's still here,” said Natalie Negrete.
The 17-year-old says she’s still in shock as she deals with an unfathomable heartbreak. She says she’s grateful for those who helped her family as best they could.
“I wanted to thank the people that were able to save… my siblings that are in there, because if it weren't for them, like, I don't know what I would have done, like losing seven people from your family… How do you even come back from that?” she said.
She’s now relying on her cousins and other extended family to help herself and her siblings as they recover.
CHP is still investigating the crash and doesn’t know if alcohol or drugs were a factor.
A GoFundMe was set up to help with funeral expenses and to fulfill her parents wish of being buried in Mexico. The GoFundMe can be found here.
For more Manteca coverage, stream ABC10+ on your TV for free:
► Roku - click here
► Amazon Fire - click here
► Apple TV - click here
