
Family of 5 killed in horrific, head-on car crash on Mother's Day
A 'close-knit' Texas family of five was killed in a fiery car crash on a Mother's Day weekend trip — when a truck slammed head-on into their pickup truck on a busy highway.
The Cerda family, including three daughters ages 18 to 26, was headed from Houston to Dallas to celebrate the holiday when a Dodge truck traveling south on Interstate 45 swerved out of its lane and struck a guardrail at around 3:15 p.m. Saturday, according to fire officials and witnesses.
The driver burst through a median and collided with the family's Ford F-150 as they headed north — causing both trucks to erupt into flames, according to the Centerville Volunteer Fire Department.
Advertisement
Veronica Cerda, 53, her husband Hermenegildo Melendez, 55, along with their daughters Denise Cerda, 26, Rebecca Cerda, 20, and Daniela Cerda, 18, died at the scene of the horrific wreck, fire officials said.
All five members of the Cerda family died in the horrific crash.
GoFundMe
'It just, it rips my heart out because I know they deserve better,' family friend Jillian De Haro told Click 2 Houston.
Advertisement
'This wasn't supposed to happen to them,' she said. 'They were a really close-knit family.'
As a plume of smoke rose from the crash site, a crowd of drivers rushed to help them.
'The fire was raging,' Mujtaba Quadri, who pulled over with his wife, told KHOU 11 News.
'There were at least seven people there, everybody actively just doing something, somebody was dictating what we should do,' he said.
Advertisement
The driver of a Dodge truck slammed into the family's truck on Interstate 45 near Houston.
Centerville Volunteer Fire Department / Facebook
Some of the good Samaritans pulled the driver of the Dodge, Toriano Fair, 42, of Dallas, from his burning truck — but weren't able to save the family, he told the station.
'Just imagine how we are feeling, like we couldn't save them,'Quadri said. 'Imagine what [Fair] is going to have to go through knowing what happened, and it's devastating.'
Fair was hospitalized in critical condition, officials said.
Advertisement
De Haro, a friend of the oldest daughter, Denise, called the circumstances of her death heartbreaking.
'She's one of those best friends that your mom always wants you to have in your life,' she said. 'I say the friendship of a lifetime.'
A relative of the family has since launched a GoFundMe page to raise money for their funerals and memorial expenses.
'They were a close-knit and loving family, known for their warmth, kindness and deep love for one another,' the fundraising page declared.
'Their sudden passing has left a deep void in the hearts of everyone who knew them, and their absence will be felt forever.'
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Southern California mother deported after immigration hearing
Loved ones are heartbroken after a Southern California mother was detained and deported after a routine immigration hearing. Maria Valeriano Perez, 52, is a mother of three children who has lived in the U.S. for 35 years. She had been working as a custodian in Ventura County for years. Her family said she attended an immigration appointment on June 4 and, instead of receiving an update on her case, she was immediately handcuffed and taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). She was transported to a federal detention center in downtown L.A. and was eventually deported to Oaxaca, Mexico. Maria's daughter, Erika Perez, said she was not only in shock over her mother's detainment, but also by the reportedly heartbreaking conditions her mother had witnessed. 'She told me about women inside banging doors, begging for food,' Erika told KTLA's Sandra Mitchell. 'They were so hungry that they would pretend they were drinking [and eating.]' Erika said her mother described the detention facility conditions as bleak — a place where men, women and children were crowded into a single room for processing. 'The women would crawl under benches and start crying just to escape the nightmare that they were going through,' Erika said. Kamilla Ponce, whose uncle was also detained by ICE, said he was not provided with much information during the process. 'They didn't even ask if they had papers or if they were documented or had proof of ID, they just rounded them all up,' Ponce said. Her uncle, Rodolfo Ponce Flores, was taken into custody during a raid in the Garment District in downtown L.A. on June 6. She said in just a few days, he had been moved to at least three different facilities across three different counties in SoCal. 'We tried to go see him, but they said, 'No,'' Ponce said. 'They were not letting anybody in, not even the lawyers.' Although Erika said her mother has accepted her fate that she may never gain U.S. citizenship, it doesn't change the effect her absence will have on her friends, loved ones and community members. 'She told me to take care of my siblings and that it's going to be okay,' Erika said of her last conversation with her mother before she was deported. 'I'm just devastated. She's gone now. She left me alone to raise my two other siblings.' Under a new policy from the Trump Administration, Maria would not be able to apply for re-admission into the U.S. for another 10 years. A GoFundMe page to help the Perez family can be found here. A campaign to help Ponce's uncle can be found here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Minneapolis mother witnesses tragic murder-suicide involving 2-year-old
The Brief Just after midnight Monday, 2-year-old Kinsley was shot and killed by her father. He then turned the gun on himself. Kinsley's mother, Trisha Prinsen, says her boyfriend struggled with mental health, but Sunday had a crisis and behavior she had never seen before. Prinsen says she and her daughter were held hostage in their own home, unable to call for help before the shooting. MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A Minneapolis mother is dealing with tragedy after her 2-year-old daughter was shot and killed by her father, who then turned the gun on himself. What we know Police were called to the family's home on the 2900 block of Colfax Avenue North just after midnight Monday. They arrived to find the 2-year-old girl and her father both deceased. Trisha Prinsen says she and her daughter were not allowed to leave the home, and essentially held hostage. Her boyfriend was armed and having a mental crisis. She was able to text two friends to call police, but nothing happened. She did not know you can text 911 for help. What they're saying Trisha Prinsen says although she is angry and sad, her daughter loved her father very much, and that she loved him too. Prinsen says, "I still love him. It's gonna take me a while to forgive him but I still love him." At the height of the crisis, Kinsley went to hug her father, and that's when he shot her and turned the gun on himself. This happened right in front of Prinsen. "Really he just went into a mental psychosis thought people were living under the house, people were watching him. I can't explain it. I couldn't understand where his thinking had gone, he had never been like this before." Prinsen said. Prinsen went onto say, "I'll never be able to take away the images losing her, watching him do that in front of me. I'll never be able to take those images out of my head." Big picture view Prinsen hopes by sharing her story, it will help to raise mental health awareness. She hopes if someone is going through a crisis, or a loved one is struggling they will go get help. She also wants to spread the word that you can text 911, as she didn't know that and it may have helped to prevent such a horrible tragedy. What you can do Trisha is hoping to get help for funeral expenses through a GoFundMe.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Las Vegas man accused of shooting at officers after police find stolen vehicle
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A Las Vegas man faces multiple charges, including attempted murder, after he allegedly shot at police while running away, police documents show. Brodie Jarrett, 30, faces 16 charges after police said he shot at officers while running away after police found what they believed to be a stolen vehicle. On Wednesday, May 28, at around 9:45 p.m., officers with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department were conducting an area check for suspicious vehicles in the 1900 block of North Decatur Boulevard. The officers found a 2019 Ram with a license plate that a records check showed was registered to a 2006 Dodge, according to an arrest report. One officer also saw a 'meth pipe' on the center console. Police spoke to an employee at a nearby Dotty's Casino, asking if she knew who drove the truck. The employee 'quietly' responded and 'subtly' pointed to a man, later identified as Jarrett, in the business who was holding a dog, the report stated. Jarrett stood up and began to leave the building. One of the officers attempted to speak to Jarrett, but he ignored the officer, dropped the dog, and ran from the officers, according to the report. As officers ran after Jarrett, they heard 'several' gunshots coming from where Jarrett was located. Ten gunshots were heard on body-worn camera footage, the report said. While officers attempted to contain a perimeter to search for Jarrett, a phone number registered to Jarrett called 911, claiming to be the victim of a carjacking. On Thursday, May 29, at around 3:30 a.m., officers found Jarrett on the patio of a residence in the 1700 block of Cordoba Lane. While police took him into custody, Jarrett recieved a 'minor dog bite' from an LVMPD K9, according to the report. During a search, police found an unloaded handgun magazine in Jarrett's pocket. Jarrett told police that he ran because he had a warrant for his arrest out of Oregon. He said that while he was running from police, he heard gunshots and thought the officers were shooting at him, the report stated. Jarrett told police he walked to Dotty's until confronted about the truck, when Jarrett claimed he got the truck from a 'friend of a friend' a week prior. When asked about a handgun, Jarrett claimed not to know anything about a gun. When police brought up video cameras from the area, Jarrett said he was done answering questions and asked for an attorney, according to the report. Jarrett was held at the Clark County Detention Center on a $350,000 bail. His preliminary hearing was scheduled for June 18. He faces the following charges: Two counts of attempted murder with the use of a deadly weapon Ten counts of assault on a protected person with the use of a deadly weapon Possessing, receiving, or transferring a stolen vehicle Resisting a public officer with a firearm Owning or possessing a gun by a prohibited person Carrying a concealed gun without a permit Court records show Jarrett was also charged with battery by a prisoner on June 4. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.