Ruben Rodriguez and Juliana Rodriguez Plata had been married mere days when tragedy struck, leaving their young son orphaned Thursday morning in Colorado. The couple, ages 33 and 37, wed Saturday and, days later, set off on a honeymoon trip to the mountains with Rodriguez Plata's parents, Luz Melba Martinez and Carlos Joaquin Plata, who were in town from Colombia, and the newlywed couple's one-year-old son Danny.
En route, a semi truck carrying large plastic blue piping overturned on I-70, sending the pipes onto the highway, where they hit several vehicles and caused "a series of crashes" that involved at least seven vehicles, per police. The family was traveling in one of the vehicles struck by the pipes, which weighed 500 pounds each, and the collision killed Rodriguez, Rodriguez Plata, and Martinez, 9 News reports. Plata and his young grandson were injured, ABC 7 reports.
Police don't believe any other vehicles were involved in the semi's initial rollover crash, and witnesses say the configuration of a construction zone in the area may have played a role. The 100 pipes the truck was carrying ended up spread across an area of the interstate the size of two football fields, shutting it down for hours. "The baby without both of his parents, you know? It's hard," Rodriguez's sister-in-law says. "It's hard for the family. So we're just gathered here right now just trying to be strong together." A GoFundMe set up for the family has raised more than $30,000. (More Colorado stories.)
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