By ROY C. MABASA
The government, through the Philippine Consulate General in New York City, has extended its sympathies and condolences to the family of the Filipino-American who was killed along with his four daughters in a car crash in Delaware last Friday (Saturday in Manila).
Authorities identified the victims as Audie Trinidad, 61, and Kaitlyn, 20; Danna, 17; and 14-year-old twins Melissa and Allison. His wife, Mary Rose Ballocanag, sustained serious injuries but is expected to survive.
“The Philippine Consulate General in New York wished to express its deepest condolences to the bereaved Trinidad family and joins the Filipino community in mourning the tragic loss of exemplary members of the community,” the Consulate General said in a statement issued late Sunday night.
The Trinidad family was returning to their home in Teaneck, New Jersey from Ocean City, Maryland from a vacation when the accident happened.
The victims were headed north on Highway Route 1 near Townsend, Delaware when a pickup truck traveling the opposite direction crossed the grassy median and collided with their minivan and another car.
The Philippine Consulate General has sent a representative to the hospital where Ballocanag is confined to extend assistance to the family.
A vigil in memory of the victims was held in Teaneck that was attended by local officials, relatives, neighbors, and other members of the community last Saturday.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has also joined the Filipino community in mourning the deaths in the Trinidad family.
