Three of the four siblings seriously injured in a crash in Grand Prairie Sunday have died.
The collision took place at about 2 p.m. when the family's Dodge Stratus stalled in the left lane of Interstate 30 near the George Bush Turnpike interchange.
The family was waiting for assistance when a Ford F-150 pickup truck struck the vehicle from behind.
Four children, 12-year-old Maria del Refugio Gonzalez, 13-year-old Diana Gonzalez, 6-year-old Jesus Gonzalez and 10-year-old Maria de Jesus Gonzalez, were sitting in the backseat at the time of the crash.
All four children were taken to Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth. Maria and Diana Gonzalez, who both attended Lamar Middle School in Irving, died of their injuries.
The parents took Jesus off of life support at 6 p.m. Monday, an Irving school district representative said. The family waited for the grandparents to arrive from Mexico so they could say goodbye. Jesus Gonzalez died later Monday evening.
Maria Gonzalez, who attend Brown Elementary School with Jesus, remains in critical condition at Cook Children's.
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The mother, Maria Vasquez, sustained minor injuries. The father, Juan Gonzalez, was not hurt.
Brown Elementary School Principal Raymie Ramsey and Jesus Gonzalez's teacher stopped by the hospital at the parents' request Monday afternoon.
"The mom asked if the teacher could see him, so I, along with our counselor and teacher went to the hospital this afternoon to see both students and visit with the family," Ramsey said.
"We shouldn't see kids in this state, injured like that, and we shouldn't see parents having to lose their own kids and having to cope with that right now," Ramsey said.
Grand Prairie police identified the driver of the pickup as Justin Beavers, 30, of North Richland Hills. He was not injured.
Police said the driver of the Stratus, Maria Vasquez, does not have a driver's license and that none of the children in the backseat were wearing seatbelts.
The cause of the collision is under investigation.
"There was no indication of any impairment from by any of the drivers involved in this," Grand Prairie police Sgt. Eric Hansen said. "[The] driver of the white pickup truck was very shaken up. He said that he changed lanes from center lane to the left lane and that was when he saw the vehicle and that he had no time to take any other evasive maneuvers."
The family's house is eerily quiet for neighbors, who said they are used to seeing the active family of six.
"Their family always sat out in the front yard," neighbor Stacy Lambert said. "I feel bad for them, just really sad."
Grief counselors are on hand at Lamar Middle School on Monday to help students cope with the loss. They expect to be even busier on Tuesday as the loss begins to sink in.
"It's very difficult to deal with, always difficult when you lose students," said Lamar Middle School Principal Joe Moreno, who met with the girls' teachers before school on Monday to tell them about the tragedy.
"Diana was quiet, timid, a very wonderful young lady," he said. "They almost look alike. They were very beautiful girls in very good standing with the school, very good standing as young ladies and as students. The family's in a really difficult situation. They have two still in the hospital, very critical."
The school plans to honor the two sisters with a memorial service in the coming days.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Earlier versions of this story stated the 10-year-old had been released from the hospital, though that is not the case. Additionally, earlier information indicated that the family had called 911, but Grand Prairie police Sgt. Eric Hansen later clarified that another party called emergency crews.
NBC 5's Greg Janda, Reginald Hardwick, Ellen Goldberg and Ray Villeda contributed to this report.
