QUARTZSITE, AZ — Two adults and four children were killed in a crash on Interstate 10 near Quartzsite last month, and still no arrest has been made.
At round 3 p.m. on July 12, Karly Perez, 42, and her three daughters — 12-year-old Olivia, 11-year-old Emalynn, and 8-year-old Giana — were traveling with Heather Ventura, 37, and her 13-year-old son, Lucas Tejada, back to their homes in California.
According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, a Ford F550 truck failed to slow down for a highway paving project in the westbound lanes and hit them.
"...The Ford truck collided with the rear of a Chevrolet Traverse carrying six people," said DPS spokesperson Bart Graves. "The Traverse was pushed into a Jeep passenger vehicle, then into two other vehicles."
When asked if the at-fault driver had been cited or charged, Graves said no.
He said the case is still under investigation.
“We didn’t know how it happened at that time," said Stephan Grande, the little girls' grandfather.
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“Every day that I would see them, a big smile – they would always come to Grandpa and come to Grandma," he said.
Grande said he has a lot of questions about the at-fault driver and why they didn't slow down.
“Were they looking at texts? Did they lose their brakes? Did something happen to the truck?" he asked.
ABC15 also spoke to Ventura's brother, Nick Ventura, and he shared the same sentiment.
Ventura said his nephew wanted to be a chef and was a fan of the TV show "Hell’s Kitchen."
"My sister, nephew, Karly, and the girls were a family unit," he said. "Knowing these children's lives were cut short has left me heartbroken."
Three GoFundMe accounts have been created to help the families pay for funeral expenses:
