A Michigan parent of six young children died in a head-on collision with a wrong-way driver who fled from police as they drove home from a date night.
Farmington Hills residents Ryan Ambrosio, 45, and his wife, Jen, 43, were killed instantly about 1:30 a.m. Jan. 6 when their SUV collided with a stolen pickup truck driven by Angel Melendez-Ortiz, 35, WDIV reported.
Melendez-Ortiz fled from police in a 2006 Ford Super Duty truck, which struck a patrol car and sped more than 100 mph onto northbound Lodge Highway in Southfield.
He got off the freeway at Telegraph Road, turned off his headlights, made a U-turn and re-entered the northbound lanes of Lodge, where he drove the wrong way, according to the news outlet.
The suspect then crashed into Ambrosios’ GMC Terrain near Civic Center Drive.
The couple was killed instantly, leaving six children between the ages of 2 and 9, WDIV reported.
Michigan couple Ryan and Jen Ambrosio were killed instantly in a collision with a wrong-way driver who fled from police – and left six young children behind. Gofundme
Melendez-Ortiz and his passenger, identified as a 29-year-old Detroit woman, were hospitalized with serious injuries, according to the outlet.
He was charged with two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of first-degree fleeing and eluding police causing death, two counts of reckless driving causing death and two counts of operating a vehicle with a suspended/revoked/rejected license causing death.
A GoFundMe page for the couple’s child has raised more than $612,000 as of Tuesday morning.
The Ambrosio family was returning from a date night when they were killed. FOX2 Angel Melendez-Ortiz was driving a stolen Ford Super Duty truck, police said. FOX2
The Ambrosios were “so loved, by so many of us. Their family, friends, church, and community groups are overwhelmed by this shocking loss,” the fundraiser’s organizers wrote.
“The greatest impact of this tragedy was (and will continue to be) on their six young children: Amelia, Maria Grace, Faustina, Benedict, Raphael, and Julian. Aged 2-9, they now have to go through the ups and downs of life without their parents by their side,” they wrote.
In the update, they tried to reassure everyone that the children were being taken care of.
“Ambrosio’s children, although now without their parents, will always have the presence and support of a large family that will ensure they grow up together in a safe and loving home,” the organizers wrote.
Ryan and Jen Ambrosio’s children will live together, according to the GoFundMe. McCabe Funeral Home
Melendez-Ortiz, of Romulus, has pleaded not guilty and was given a $1.5 million cash bond, the prosecutor’s office said. He will return to court Jan. 24.
“This was a senseless death, and I have authorized the highest charges possible for this crime,” Oakland County District Attorney Karen McDonald said, according to CBS Detroit.
“We will pursue justice for these victims and their entire families, including their young children, and we will hold these defendants accountable,” he added.
A spokesman for the prosecutor’s office said charging a driver with manslaughter after a fatal crash is rare, but appropriate in this case.
“This is a rare case that gives us enough evidence,” the spokesman told the Detroit Free Press.
This case shows “elements of willfulness on the part of the defendant” because he turned off the lights of the vehicle and drove on the wrong road,” according to the representative.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
