Group of best friends killed when SUV flipped and burst into flames after driver slammed into oncoming traffic
The victims in the July 25 collision were identified as Thalia Salinas, Ruby Cruz, Brianna Valadez, Desiree Cervantez, and Jacqueline Velazco.
The women were in the same Mercedes SUV together on US 281 near Austin when a 2018 Ram 4500 truck pulling a livestock trailer hit them.
The truck had been traveling northbound but veered into the southbound lanes, colliding with multiple vehicles.
The SUV carrying the women flipped on impact and caught fire, killing everyone inside, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).
All five women were from the Dallas area and considered each other sisters, their families have said.
They were on their way to a lake house in central Texas to celebrate Thalia's 23rd birthday. Thalia was driving the car at the time of the crash.
'You go to the lake house and you see the cops and you see this reality and that's when it sinks in,' Sal Salinas, Thalia's older brother, told FOX 4. 'We were devastated. Everyone was. To see my mom devastated and my dad...it was very hard.'
The group of friends were on their way to vacation when they were tragically killed
Pictured: Ruby Cruz (left) and Brianna Valadez were also killed after the Mercedes flipped over and burst into flaes
In a statement shared with CBS News, the Salinas family mourned the loss of Thalia and her four best friends, who have been close since middle school.
'Words can't describe how devastated we are,' they said.
'We were en route to celebrate Thalia's birthday in Kingsland, Texas, at her favorite place — on the lake — with all her favorite people. Then we got news of the girls' passing away in the worst accident we could ever imagine.'
Drivers of the other vehicles that were hit by the truck survived with minor injuries, according to authorities.
A little less than two weeks after the five women were killed, the man police suspect was driving the truck was arrested.
On Tuesday, DPS officers arrested Kody Lane Talley and booked him into the Burnet County Jail.
DPS troopers said that Talley, 37, ditched the truck after ramming it into a fence. He also refused medical treatment on the scene. Talley now faces five counts of manslaughter.
According to a crash report viewed by FOX 4, Talley was not tested for drugs or alcohol on the day of the incident.
Each family created a GoFundMe page for their loved ones to help pay for their funerals, which are all happening this week.
Thalia, who had just celebrated her nephew's 1st birthday the week before she was killed, was described as 'quiet,' but the funniest person in the room to people who knew her.
'She was witty, intelligent, loyal, and the true manager of our household, always keeping us all in line. If you were lucky to call her a friend, she was the best friend you had,' the family wrote in the GoFundMe description.
The fundraisers for all the women raised tens of thousands of dollars. Combined, people have donated nearly $100,000 to the victims' families.
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