Prayers for a Tragic Accident

Please pray for the family and friends of the 4 young people that were killed in a tragic car accident. My Jake went to school with 2 of them, and Josh knew the driver since he was 3 years old....they also went to school and graduated together. The driver and his girlfriend, Ashley, just had a baby that is now orphaned....I am sure their parents will be raising this little one. Jake graduated with Justin, and he has a 3 year old daughter that now has no daddy......My boys are really torn up with this and Josh is to be a pallbearer for Ryan. They (my boys) think drugs and alcohol were involved, which makes this such a waste of their life.....My heart breaks for the parents of these kids, as well as the children that will never know their parent/s

Downtown Crash Leaves Four Dead

Monday, January 18, 2010 9:52 AM CST

Three men and a woman from the Barling and Greenwood areas were killed early Sunday when a driver lost control of his vehicle and crashed in downtown Fort Smith.

Ryan Gallegos, 20, Ashley Stamper, 20, Chris Strozier, 24, and Justin Goines, 21, were all killed on impact when the Hyundai Elantra they were traveling in crashed into the pole of a stoplight at the area where Garrison and Rogers avenues meet, according to Sgt. Wayne Barnett of the Fort Smith Police Department. “The car was so crumpled, it was literally folded around the traffic signal pole,” Barnett said.

Witnesses told police that sometime between 2:30 and 3 a.m., they saw the Hyundai traveling east on Garrison Avenue at a high rate of speed, according to Barnett.

Gallegos, who was driving the vehicle, somehow lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the stoplight pole at the southeast corner where Garrison meets with Rogers and intersects with South 14th Street, according to Barnett.

The side of the vehicle slammed into the pole. Skid marks appeared on the road where the vehicle slid, Barnett said.

It is unknown where the four had come from or what they had been doing. Whether alcohol was a factor in the crash also has yet to be determined, according to Barnett.

Barnett also said that he did not have information on the exact speed the vehicle was moving or whether any of the four was wearing a seat belt.

Wow! That is so sad!

How very sad and tragic. The families are in my prayers.

How very sad. I will pray for their families and I will also say one for Jake and Josh that they get through the grief of losing friends.

How awful. I'll certainly be praying for everyone. To think of loss at such an early age is sobering.

I'm so sorry to hear about the accident. Rhonda, your boys will be in my thoughts, as well as theier frieds who were involved in the crash.

The families will be in my prayers, Rhonda.

Thanks everyone....Josh attended 1 of the 2 funerals yesterday. He would've gone to both, but they overlapped each other because of of lack of communication between grieving parents......there is one today and one on Friday. The girl that died will have a closed casket. They said they could hardly recognize who she was, thought she was a ten year old child in the car. Seems that the 4 had just come from a bar, and get this...the one guy and girl, were UNDER AGE!!! They snuck in and were served alcohol!!!

We went to church last night, and before we left, Josh literally broke down bawling and weeping....it broke my heart....this is such a tough week for him, and Jake wishes so much he was here from Cuba to be with Josh and his friends who lost these friends.

Josh told me last night, that it was Ryan's birthday, so he was born and then buried on January 20.

That's very sad, Rhonda. I'm sorry that Josh is hurting so much.

How terrible
I am glad Josh let his feelings out... poor guy :(

It is specially sad when the people are young... and they make this life threatening mistakes. Just last week, we had a terrible accident where a six grader 11 year old was DRIVING the car... the guy that was teaching him to drive was there as well on the passenger seat (a 34 year old guy.. friend of theirs) and in the back was the boy's mother and younger 6 year old sister.

Well, the boy ran a stop sign and crashed into the path of a Ford Buik. Only ONE survivor in the car.... the guy who was teaching the boy to drive. The 11 year old, his mother and little sister were killed.

Rhonda wrote:

.....they are going to sue the bar for this to the fullest.

Heck YES!!

I'm sorry I haven't seen this until now Rhonda. How devastating....I can't even imagine being one of the parents, especially knowing alcohol was involved. It is so frustrating to know that bar served two of them. I'll never understand why people think they can drink and get behind the wheel. I think, as a parent, I would be so sad for the loss, but anger would be just under the surface. Whether my kid was driving or not. Brendan has been lectured time and again about not getting into a car with someone who has been drinking. Still, these are kids/young adults, and we all make poor choices at that age.

It really struck me, because Ryan's birthday was the same as my Nick's. To think his parents had to bury him on his birthday, it just breaks my heart. The families will be in my prayers.

How sad for ones so young to lose their lives when their lives have barely begun. I'll be praying for those left behind, that they'll be able to get through such a tragic time.