Seven people were pronounced dead

http://www.ktla.com/videogallery/65718490/News/Indiana-Toll-Road-crash-kills-7

The crowded minivan first hit a deer that had wandered onto the highway in the early evening darkness. Then, slowing or stopped, the minivan was rammed from behind by a tractor-trailer.

In an instant, a family trip to the East Coast ended tragically only a couple of hours after it began Thursday. Seven people were pronounced dead on the scene, mile marker 103.5 of the Indiana Toll Road, east of South Bend.

Four of those killed were children, one a six-week-old baby who was about to be introduced to his grandparents for the first time. The van's three survivors were all injured and hospitalized.

"The pain is very strong," said Manuel Quizhpi, the brother of one of the victims, who provided a different spelling for his last name than the one provided by Indiana State Police for family members.

The 1998 Toyota Sienna was packed with 10 members of three families from Chicago's Albany Park neighborhood, all with roots in Ecuador, according to Quizhpi.

It's not clear what happened to the Sienna after it hit the deer. The truck that crashed into the minivan from behind was traveling about 65 mph, said Indiana State Police Sgt. Trent Smith. Both vehicles ended up in the Toll Road's center median.

The truck driver, 24-year-old Jesse F. Donovan, of Rhode Island, was treated and released at Elkhart General Hospital. A preliminary test for alcohol came back negative. The 2006 Freightliner truck is owned by Roehl Transport in Marshfield, Wis.

Smith said no one in the minivan was wearing a seat belt. The baby was in a car seat but it was not properly secured, he said.

Killed were Maria J. Yupa and her sons, Edwin Quizhpe, 8, and Franklin Quizhpe, 6 weeks; Pedro Chimborazo, 52, and his 15-year-old son Pedro Chimborazo Yupa; and Maria Chimborazo Pinguil, 26, and her daughter Jessica Chimborazo, 8. Police and family members gave conflicting ages for Maria Yupa, but both said she was in her 20s.

Cayetano Quizhpe, 28, husband of Maria Yupa and father to Edwin and Franklin, was listed in stable condition at Elkhart General Hospital. Maria Antonia Yupa, 36, wife of Pedro Chimborazo and mother of Pedro Chimborazo Yupa, was airlifted to South Bend Memorial Hospital in serious condition.

The minivan's driver, Manuel Chimborazo, 30, was also airlifted to South Bend Memorial Hospital, where he was in critical condition. He is the husband of Maria Chimborazo Pinguil and father of Jessica Chimborazo.

About 10 people who knew the families gathered across the street from the hospital in South Bend on Friday afternoon. Pedro Bunay, 29, spoke on behalf of the family and said that he had just arrived home from work when his brother-in-law told him about the accident.

"It's hard to be able to understand all that happened," Bunay said in Spanish, tearing up. "I never thought these things would happen."Smith said the group was driving to New Jersey to attend a funeral. Quizhpi said the family had also hoped to introduce the newborn to his grandparents on the East Coast.

Despite the tragedy, Bunay said he believed that the grieving family would find a way to recover.

"Yes, we have hope," Bunay said. "We can keep going, because of the unity of the whole family, thanks to the fact that we're all united here. Whatever happens, we're together. Maybe we can."