By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-10-30 17:39:11 | Updated at 2024-10-31 05:32:08
12 hours ago
A fiery crash has left a family-of-four and newly engaged woman dead - and several bodies too charred to be identified.
It happened in Texas early Sunday morning, ending the lives of 33-year-old Chelsea Cook and the still-unidentified family, officials said.
The sole survivor was Cook's fiancé, Evan Ranallo, whose pickup was struck by the family's Ford Focus. He had proposed to Cook just weeks earlier.
The smaller car had been driving the wrong side of the highway when the incident occurred, local cops went on to say - as witnesses described an explosion that occurred upon impact.
Fort Worth officials are now struggling to identify the four others involved, after the bodies suffered serious damage when their car burst into flames. The victims include two parents and two kids, all of whom went unnamed.
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A 'wrong-way' crash in Texas early Sunday morning claimed the lives of 33-year-old Chelsea Cook and a still-unidentified family. The sole survivor, Cook's fiancé Evan Ranallo, is seen with Cook here. He was driving the pair's pickup when it was struck by the family's Ford Focus
The family's car is seen here. It exploded upon impact and had been driving down the wrong side of the Fort Worth highway when the accident occurred
'I saw the car that was no longer on fire, just unrecognizable. It was so burnt,' one bystander told KSLA 12 News of the Ford Focus, which was left unrecognizable in the wake of the wreck.
'They were about a mile from their exit and they were hit head-on,' added Laurel Summerfield, Chelsea Cook's mother, in an interview with KWTX 10.
'The car was going the wrong direction.
'It just feels unfair, very unfair.'
As she spoke, Ranallo remained at JPS Hospital with 'serious' injuries - which demanded surgery but went unspecified.
The 34-year-old had just played a show with his band, friends and family said - and had been seconds away from the couple's home when the tragedy struck.
It happened on the loop near Marine Creek Reservoir around 3:30am, minutes after the pair had driven off from the show.
'They were driving straight and they were going over 80 miles they were definitely going over 80 miles,' recalled a motorist who had been the scene named Valerie, who told NBC 5 that she had to swerve out of the way to avoid the wrong-way car.
Witnesses described an explosion that occurred upon impact - burning the family so badly that their remains have yet to be identified days later
Cook was also pronounced dead at the scene after suffering fatal injuries. Unlike the Ford Focus, the car she had been inside did not immediately explode. She worked as a travel agent
'It was just shocking to us because literally that would have been us, by one second, if we wouldn't have swerved out the way,' she recalled
'It makes us feel kind of guilty again because somebody else passed away.
'The whole family in the car passed away, but they also killed somebody else.'
The woman said she called 911 immediately, and that the rest happened extremely fast.
Another witness went on to tell WFAA: 'The car was right in front of me. You could barely see any of it because there was so much fire. It was engulfed in flames.
'I watched all these first responders going and grabbing crowbars, going and grabbing defibrillators, and coming back with this look on their faces like they knew it was too late,' she continued, as the cause of the infraction remains unknown.
All five were subsequently pronounced dead at the scene, sparking the ongoing investigation.
In an interview with People, Summerfield spoke of her daughter positively, revealing how she had worked as a travel agent.
Pictured, sole survivor Ranallo proposing to Cook three weeks ago during a trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico. He remains in the ICU
'We don't understand why they were going the wrong way on a highway like that,' Summerfield said Tuesday, as cops wait on a toxicology report and remain at a loss as to the cause of the crash
She added how her daughter's 'mission in life' was to 'build people up,' while Cook's boss, Sandy Cunningham, described her as having 'a vibrant spirit.'
They both said they found solace knowing that Cook's final weeks were some of her happiest.
As for the other victims, who cops said were more than likely two parents and their two kids, their named will be released by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner.
DailyMail.com has reached out for comment.
In a statement sent to DailyMail.com Wednesday, Fort Worth Police confirmed the Ford Focus had been 'travelling in the wrong direction...[resulting] in a vehicle fire and entrapment.
'Five individuals were pronounced deceased on scene by medical personnel, and one additional individual has been transported to an area hospital,' a PIO added.
'Officers are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident. The scene remains active.'
'[Chelsea] was loved by so many people,' she concluded. An investigation into the incident is underway
Cops are also waiting on a toxicology report from those who perished in the incident, as they look to discern why the Ford Focus had been traveling the wrong way.
'We don't understand why they were going the wrong way on a highway like that,' Summerfield said of this Tuesday.
'[Chelsea] was loved by so many people.'
