Family members were released from the hospital, including the boy’s twin. The Fontana community embraced the family after the tragic crash. Beverly White reports for the NBC4 News at 11 p.m. Aug. 30, 2019.
A family heading to the beach over the weekend for a fun day is facing tragedy after their car stalled, and a van struck their Kia, leaving a 7-year-old boy dead.
"We’ve been denial," Barbara Stone Nelson, the boys' grandmother, said.
Ver’Shad was being remembered at a vigil Friday night in Fontana.
The family was en route to the beach when the car stalled on the 241 Toll Road in Orange County, the California Highway Patrol and family said.
"I looked in the mirror, and I see an white van coming at me -- really fast pace. I just told my boys, hold on,'" Vernon Raggins, the father, said.
A van going about 75 mph struck the Raggins' family Kia, CHP said.
All four family members — 54-year-old father Vernon, two 7-year-old twins, and a 16-year-old — were taken to the hospital.
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Ver'Shad, only 7 years old, died of his injuries, family said.
His twin brother Ver'ell survived, and the family said it's tough for him to accept, as he was his best friend and partner in crime, they said on a GoFundMe.
Ver'Rell is in a wheelchair, after he and his father were released from the hospital Thursday night.
"He has a broken femur and a broken hand. He was originally on life support for two days," Nelson said.
If you would like to donate to the family, you can do so here.
