Five people were killed in a nine-vehicle wreck involving 17 people on a Fort Worth interstate early Sunday morning, police said.
It started out as a minor crash on Interstate 30 between Oakland Boulevard and Beach Street at about 2:30 a.m., but an 18-wheeler wrecked and caught fire, according to the Fort Worth police.
Veronica Gonzales, 43, and Mary Hernandez, 42, both from Fort Worth, were killed in the crash.
Other names have not yet been released.
Neighbors of Gonzales knew her as Roni and said she’d just celebrated a birthday and engagement with her girlfriend and their children.
"She was just happy; a funny person,” said Linda Garcia. “I just feel for the kids.”
Family friends told NBC 5 that Steve and Tracey Franklin were among the good Samaritans who stopped to help the stranded driver. Steve was killed in the crash, Tracey is in critical condition at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth.
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We are told Steve was a member of a local Jeep club which helped stranded drivers during winter storms in North Texas. The family owns an air conditioning company in Arlington.
"The 18-wheeler, a Ryder truck that caught fire after the crash, was carrying the Sunday edition of the Star-Telegram", Paul Keese, director of operations for the Star-Telegram told the newspaper.
Friends of the Franklin family have started a couple of funds to help the family with medical expenses.
Of the 17 people involved, two people had critical and potentially life threatening injuries, one person had serious and non-life threatening injuries, and 10 people had minor injuries.
Three people were taken to JPS, three people were taken to Harris Hospital in Fort Worth and one person was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas in an air ambulance.
Eight MedStar units were called to the scene as well as a supervisor and a paramedic.
More: GoFundMe for Tracey and Steve Franklin | Steve & Tracey Franklin Life Fund | GoFundMe for Veronica Gonzales
NBC 5's Ray Villeda contributed to this report.
