The family of a Lake Elsinore couple who was among four people tragically killed in a wrong-way crash in Chino Hills over the weekend is now speaking out.
Now the community is coming together to help family members who are now taking care of the couple’s three young children.
One of the couple’s last memories together was celebrating Gideon Mbatha’s 42nd birthday, planned by his wife Ruth.
“It makes me very sad because they were celebrating because they were looking into their future,” Horelia Kuria, Gideon’s sister, said.
Just hours later, on their way home to Lake Elsinore, the couple was killed in a fiery wrong-way crash on the 71 freeway in Chino Hills.
Gideon’s sister says that night, friends noticed — the couple was as happy as could be.
“They almost left like they were telling them good-bye, they were very happy, so the way back is when they had the accident,” Kuria said.
Kuria says her brother Gideon was a hardworking aeronautics engineer and a loving father of three.
The children are 3, 8 and 12 years old. Kuria vows to take care of and raise the children like her own.
“They were settling in to raise their kids – that was their bottom line -they did it halfway,
we have to do the rest for them,” Kuria said.
The two younger kids, too young to fully comprehend their parents won’t be coming back.
“The most thing I’m feeling is just sadness,” Nathaniel Mbatha said.
Nathaniel says he also feels a big void.
“When I look through my homework and I realize I haven’t done something — I remember them because they’re always tough on my homework,” Nathaniel said.
A next door neighbor has started this GoFundMe account — to help Kuria raise Gideon and Ruth’s children.
Kuria wants to pay off the mortgage and help the children reach their dreams.
Nathaniel says he wants to be an NBA player some day and says even though his parents are no longer here, he knows they are watching from up above.
“I really want to make them proud. I want to have good grades in school. I want to make them feel proud of me for awards I get and not get into trouble and stuff because I know they wouldn’t like that,” Nathaniel said.
Source: NBC Los Angeles