KANSAS CITY, Mo — KSHB 41 reporter Alyssa Jackson reached out to families impacted by the fatal crash on 71 Highway. She covers Kansas City, Missouri. Share your story idea with Alyssa.
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Olga Sorbalo and her sons, 8-year-old Luis and 4-year-old Samir, were killed this week in a chain reaction crash on 71 Highway, one of the most dangerous stretches of roadway in the Kansas City area.
Watch: Family aware of 71 Highway dangers after mother, young children killed
The family of five were in town from Vancouver, Washington, to visit relatives, and the only survivors in the vehicle were Liviu Sorbalo and his one-year-old son. Liviu, Olga's husband, remains in the hospital with a skull fracture, rib fractures, a chest tube, and his lungs can't fully expand.
Their brother-in-law, Vadim Verhovetchi, spoke with KSHB 41 Reporter Alyssa Jackson from the hospital.
"Thank God, but we haven’t had to deal with this in the past. It's a learning curve for all of us," Verhovetchi said.
Eldar Skander, the driver of the semi-truck involved in the crash, is charged with three counts of first-degree involuntary manslaughter. He is accused of driving at a high speed that led to a chain-reaction crash of a minivan, two SUVs and a FedEx truck.
The baby who survived will turn two years old later this month.
"The baby that made it — we now call the 'Miracle Baby'," Verhovetchi said. "Only by God’s mercy he’s untouched somehow."
Verhovetchi said neighbors, friends and other family have positive memories of Olga.
"Olga went away in peace because she wasn’t one to have a conflict with anybody," Verhovetchi said.
The family is aware of safety concerns on 71 Highway.
"If there are multiple accidents, there are probably some changes they need to make," said Verhovetchi. "I would ask for that to be looked into so future tragedies can be prevented."
Safety on 71 Highway has been a discussion for decades.
Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II was mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, when portions of the highway were being built. He has pushed for stoplights to slow traffic down, a decision that received pushback.
"No conversation can be had, can be presented that would fix that family and reduce the pain the survivors are going through," said Cleaver. "This is awful... absolutely awful, but we also have a responsibility to respond, and I think that’s what we're gonna do."
Cleaver has been active in conversations about re-imagining the 71 corridor and making it safer through an ongoing project.
"I'm pained over the deaths, but I'm also recommitted to doing anything I can on the federal level to make it a lot safer," Cleaver said. "There’s no legislation that can stop people being blatantly disrespectful of human life by not paying attention as they’re driving."
Investigators documented grabbing an electronic tablet off the floorboard of the truck that was open to the YouTube application. The tablet, which contained the truck's driving log, had Velcro that matched a Velcro mount on the dashboard that was viewable by the driver.
According to court documents, investigators did not find any signs of emergency braking.
"Encourage people to be more careful… distractions, scrolling... the unfortunate truth is the consequence can be great," Verhovetchi said.
The family is raising money on GoFundMe to support Olga's husband and baby, as well as the costs of burial transit.
