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Vigil Held For Three North Texas Teens Who Were Killed When SUV Plunged More Than 60-Feet From Highway Overpass

By Angelica N. Sumter
Published on: 11:31 PST, Jan 20, 2016

Three Texas teens were killed Saturday after the vehicle they were traveling in plunged more than 60-feet from a highway overpass, reported NBC Chicago. Police officials say that at approximately 7 p.m. on January 16, 28-year-old Charqual McMath of Garland was driving a 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe with three passengers, – her 12-year-old daughter Tyreana McMath, as well as her sister Torneki McMath, 19, and her niece Myaa Moore, 13, – when she suddenly lost control of the wheel.

Sources say that as Charqual was traveling eastbound on President George Bush Turnpike near US 75 in the far right lane, traffic suddenly slowed for unknown reasons, causing the Texas woman to swerve left in an attempt to evade an accident. However, the driver ultimately lost control of the wheel as she was crossing three lanes, causing the Tahoe to roll over three times and struck another vehicle just before falling more than 60-feet from the highway overpass onto a parking lot.

One of the passengers died on impact while the other teens died after being transferred to Medical Center of Plano. Fortunately for the driver, she survived the crash and was conscious when first responders arrived at the scene. She too was transported to Medical Center of Plano, but only suffered non-serious injuries. According to NBC DFW, the four passengers were on their way home when the driver lost control of the wheel and plunged 60-feet off a highway overpass.

The following day, a vigil was held for the car crash victims – Tyreana, Torneki, and Myah – just outside of the T.W. Browne Middle School where hundreds congregated to say a prayer for the victims as they held candles. The father, Jarious Brazile, of 12-year-old Tyreana, who was one of the victims in the turnpike crash, led the prayer and asked for “comfort during this time of grief.” Brazile later told reporters that he was stunned that his daughter was one of the turnpike car crash victims, saying that he “Keeps FaceTiming my daughter hoping she’d pick up the phone.”

Jamaar Smith, a family friend, stated that the vigil for the turnpike crash victims was “much needed right now because at times like this it affects the family in a bad way because they were so young.”

After losing her young daughter and two relatives in the turnpike car crash, Charquel went public with her tragic story saying, “I just wish it would’ve happened another way. I just hate that it happened to my family like that. I wish there was something I could have done.”

“We were on the George Bush Turnpike going up, and next thing you know cars are slowing down, so I swerved to avoid the cars. I didn’t even know we went off a bridge until we fell. I was like, ‘How did we get down here?’ I was panicking. I was just trying to get everyone out of the car.”

The family of the car crash victims recently set up a Go Fund Me page, where they wrote, “Dealing with the loss of a family member is never easy. One of the most difficult parts of any death is planning the memorial and burial. On yesterday Our Family (McMath’s,Moore’s & James’s) lost our loved ones….not 1 but 3 all at the same time…”

More than $5k was raised to help pay for the Texas teens killed in the car crash, but the family is hoping to raise $15k.

According to the spokesperson for the North Texas Tollway Authority, Michael Rey, it was stated that the “Department of Public Safety (DPS) is still investigating the crash. NTTA will review DPS’s report when it is complete. All NTTA roadways, including this one, are designed and constructed to meet all state and federal safety regulations.”

[Image via Geety Images/Michael Graae]

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