A co-worker of mine, Jerry Edwards lost his parents, his uncle, and his brother-in-law due to a car wreck in Texas. Un-official reports say the car the killed the family was driving close to 120mph. Jerry's sister remains in critical condition. Please pray for them, Jerry is one of the nicest people I know. The story is below. The driver of the car also killed his girlfriend who was in the car with him.
I am sorry, Jerry lost 4 family members, total of five died in the crash. I am not thinking straight.
Brandon Lee Ferguson lay in a hospital bed Sunday, heavily sedated from surgery to mend his torn intestines and unaware that he would have to answer for five deaths when he woke up.
Police say the 22-year-old was driving faster than 100 miles per hour when his Chevy Cobalt crashed into a van in Montgomery County on Saturday. They are investigating whether he was racing at the time, but won't know for sure what charges he might face until they talk to him, Texas DPS Trooper Winson Pham said.
While Ferguson recovered from surgery at Memorial Hermann Hospital-Texas Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition Sunday, his relatives were also waiting to talk to him.
They wanted him to be alert and stable before telling him the deadly wreck had killed his 18-year-old girlfriend, Kayla Pratorius, along with four others, his stepfather Mark Graham said.
Pratorius, a high school dropout, had plans to return to school next week to get her life back on track, relatives said.
"She had her whole life in front of her," Graham said. "He has no idea yet."
Suffered internal injuries
Ferguson, who was about to start a new job, must now focus on healing from the broken arm, broken leg and internal injuries inflicted by his seat belt.
"He was probably speeding for the seat belt to do that kind of damage," Graham said. "He had a souped up car and he did like to run it."
While the young couple raced down Texas 249 just before noon, a group of older relatives was on its way to a birthday lunch for Curtis Charles Edwards, who would have turned 79 today.
Edwards, a Texaco retiree, had family in town to help him mark his first birthday since his wife, Cecilia, died this summer. His brother and sister-in-law, Lloyd and Catherine Edwards, both 83, traveled from Salina, Oklahoma. His niece, 59-year-old Karla Sexton, and her husband, 60-year-old Donald Sexton, joined him from College Station.
Of the five, only Karla Sexton survived the wreck. She was in serious condition at Memorial Hermann Hospital-Texas Medical Center Sunday, where she was recovering from a broken leg and back.
She and Catherine Edwards were tossed clear of the wreckage; the three men died trapped inside the burning van, police said. The accident scene was grim.
"It was the worst I've seen," said Pham, a five-year police veteran. "It was bad. It was really bad."
Dangerous intersection
Witnesses saw a motorcycle speed ahead of Ferguson's car Saturday morning, Pham said, but investigators could not be sure whether the two were racing.
The intersection of Texas 249 and Patridge Circle has been the site of a number of other crashes. A rise in the roadway limits the sight line and creates a driving hazard, neighbors say.
"There are accidents there a couple times a year, and this is the third or fourth time I've seen Life Flight here," said Harold Hill, who lives near the intersection.
He's no longer surprised when he hears crashes, but this one was the worst anyone had seen.
"It's amazing anybody was alive at all," said Scott Smith, a neighbor and friend of Curtis Edwards who happened upon the smoldering scene Saturday without realizing Edwards was trapped inside.
Smith mourned his neighbor's loss on Sunday.
"He was a gentle human being. If you could pick a neighbor, you'd pick Curtis and Cecilia. If you could clone a neighbor, you'd clone Curtis," said Smith.
Relatives who answered the door of Curtis Edwards' Pinehurst home on Sunday said they were too grief-stricken and exhausted to talk about the family's devastating loss.
Pratorius' grandmother, Barbara Pratorius, saw her granddaughter about an hour before the crash. The elder Pratorius was raising the teen, who she said had re-enrolled in high school and was trying to get her life back on track.
"Two months ago she came back to us, and we've had such an enjoyable time," Pratorius said. "We've talked and talked."
Holding no grudge
Shyllo DeLaCruz, the teen's older sister, said she'll miss Kayla and was proud of where she was headed.
Family members said they do not hold a grudge against Ferguson.
"I hope Brandon gets better. I would never want to press charges now. I don't know how a child can live with killing five people," said Barbara Pratorius.
I am sorry, Jerry lost 4 family members, total of five died in the crash. I am not thinking straight.
Brandon Lee Ferguson lay in a hospital bed Sunday, heavily sedated from surgery to mend his torn intestines and unaware that he would have to answer for five deaths when he woke up.
Police say the 22-year-old was driving faster than 100 miles per hour when his Chevy Cobalt crashed into a van in Montgomery County on Saturday. They are investigating whether he was racing at the time, but won't know for sure what charges he might face until they talk to him, Texas DPS Trooper Winson Pham said.
While Ferguson recovered from surgery at Memorial Hermann Hospital-Texas Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition Sunday, his relatives were also waiting to talk to him.
They wanted him to be alert and stable before telling him the deadly wreck had killed his 18-year-old girlfriend, Kayla Pratorius, along with four others, his stepfather Mark Graham said.
Pratorius, a high school dropout, had plans to return to school next week to get her life back on track, relatives said.
"She had her whole life in front of her," Graham said. "He has no idea yet."
Suffered internal injuries
Ferguson, who was about to start a new job, must now focus on healing from the broken arm, broken leg and internal injuries inflicted by his seat belt.
"He was probably speeding for the seat belt to do that kind of damage," Graham said. "He had a souped up car and he did like to run it."
While the young couple raced down Texas 249 just before noon, a group of older relatives was on its way to a birthday lunch for Curtis Charles Edwards, who would have turned 79 today.
Edwards, a Texaco retiree, had family in town to help him mark his first birthday since his wife, Cecilia, died this summer. His brother and sister-in-law, Lloyd and Catherine Edwards, both 83, traveled from Salina, Oklahoma. His niece, 59-year-old Karla Sexton, and her husband, 60-year-old Donald Sexton, joined him from College Station.
Of the five, only Karla Sexton survived the wreck. She was in serious condition at Memorial Hermann Hospital-Texas Medical Center Sunday, where she was recovering from a broken leg and back.
She and Catherine Edwards were tossed clear of the wreckage; the three men died trapped inside the burning van, police said. The accident scene was grim.
"It was the worst I've seen," said Pham, a five-year police veteran. "It was bad. It was really bad."
Dangerous intersection
Witnesses saw a motorcycle speed ahead of Ferguson's car Saturday morning, Pham said, but investigators could not be sure whether the two were racing.
The intersection of Texas 249 and Patridge Circle has been the site of a number of other crashes. A rise in the roadway limits the sight line and creates a driving hazard, neighbors say.
"There are accidents there a couple times a year, and this is the third or fourth time I've seen Life Flight here," said Harold Hill, who lives near the intersection.
He's no longer surprised when he hears crashes, but this one was the worst anyone had seen.
"It's amazing anybody was alive at all," said Scott Smith, a neighbor and friend of Curtis Edwards who happened upon the smoldering scene Saturday without realizing Edwards was trapped inside.
Smith mourned his neighbor's loss on Sunday.
"He was a gentle human being. If you could pick a neighbor, you'd pick Curtis and Cecilia. If you could clone a neighbor, you'd clone Curtis," said Smith.
Relatives who answered the door of Curtis Edwards' Pinehurst home on Sunday said they were too grief-stricken and exhausted to talk about the family's devastating loss.
Pratorius' grandmother, Barbara Pratorius, saw her granddaughter about an hour before the crash. The elder Pratorius was raising the teen, who she said had re-enrolled in high school and was trying to get her life back on track.
"Two months ago she came back to us, and we've had such an enjoyable time," Pratorius said. "We've talked and talked."
Holding no grudge
Shyllo DeLaCruz, the teen's older sister, said she'll miss Kayla and was proud of where she was headed.
Family members said they do not hold a grudge against Ferguson.
"I hope Brandon gets better. I would never want to press charges now. I don't know how a child can live with killing five people," said Barbara Pratorius.
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Thoughts and prayers out 
