Two Tragic Deaths

Before Nanny G. came to us, she was employed by an Ecuadorian lady, Miss N. Miss N. gave me a very good reference for Nanny G. when we spoke briefly on the phone in August.

Last evening Nanny G. came in with some very sad news. Miss N.’s sister and brother-in-law were killed by a speeding driver early Sunday morning while on their way to Miami International Airport.

Miss N.’s mother died when Miss N. was quite young, so Miss N. was raised by her elder sister and this was the sister that was killed. The driver reportedly was going 120 miles an hour when he struck the car carrying Miss N.’s sister, her brother-in-law, and two other relatives. What ever possessed someone to decide to travel that fast on I-75? Doubtless, alcohol. But while the driver survived, the Ecuadorian family is reeling with the shock and making plans to send the bodies back to Ecuador for burial. Nothing could be done on Sunday, since the offices required to issue the appropriate paperwork to transport the bodies were closed.

Miss N.’s nephew and son of the deceased is also a good friend of Nanny G.’s. Obviously, he is beside himself with grief. Nanny G. said every time she calls Miss N. to check up on her, Miss N. says “my sister is dead”. That is all she can focus on. Assorted relatives cannot travel back to Ecuador for the funeral, because they are in the process of obtaining their residency permits for the U.S. and are not allowed to leave the country according to U.S. law. The sister and her husband also carried a considerable sum of cash to give to family back in Ecuador. Interestingly, although their luggage was recovered from the crash site, the money is missing. The only culprit would be someone who responded to the crash scene and went through their possessions to determine their identity. This is just insult added to injury (or, in this case, death). To take money from the deceased is unconscionable.

Miss N.’s sister was married 40 years. Nanny G. said that the sister and husband had discussed dying together because neither one could bear to live without the other.
Just prior to the crash, the group of 4 had stopped to change a flat tire. The sister sat in the back with the other female passenger, and the husband sat in the front with the other male in the group. But after the tire was changed, the husband said he wanted to sit in the back of the car with his wife. Thus, they died together. The man in the front seat is now in a coma and has not awoken.

I hope the driver that killed them rots in hell. An entire family in two countries was destroyed by thoughtlessness, recklessness, and probably, drunkenness. It will take a long time for the grief to heal, if it ever does.