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#54 FW: Tragedy in Atlanta



From: Madhere, Wesley  <Wesley.Madhere@turner.com>


> For Immediate Release...
> 
> Six Haitians died on their way home from church Sunday after their car was
> rear-ended by a tractor-trailer. Attached, is a copy of an article on the
> accident by the local newspaper, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution.
> A Fund Drive to help the families has been established at First Union Bank
> - Account #2000002672793
> or send checks or money orders payable to Good Samaritan Memorial Fund to:
> 
> 		Good Samaritan Memorial Fund
> 		C/O Radio Savannah
> 		2840 NE Expressway
> 		Suite 214
> 		Atlanta, GA 30345
> 		
> 
>  <<Tragedy.txt>> 
> For more information, please contact Radio Savannah at the address above
> or at:
> 		Tel. (404)315-0165
> 		Fax (404)634-9983
> 		
> *******************************************
> Wesley Madhere                                
> Technology Services                        
> Turner Broadcasting System,Inc.   
> One CNN Center                                
> Atlanta, GA 30348-5573                    
> ********************************************
> 
      			Crushed car may have stopped 
              	 	 By Brad Schrade, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

  			The Nissan Sentra crushed by a      
                       tractor-trailer on a Ga. 400 exit lane had slowed to a crawl,
		       or even stopped, before the crash that killed its six passengers,
		       Roswell police said Monday.                              
                                                         
    		       And it doesn't appear that any charges will be filed against the
		       truck driver, Robert L. Moore, of Decatur, who slammed into the 
		       rear of the Nissan on Sunday afternoon, killing
                       the six Haitian natives on their way home from church, said
                       Sgt. Jim McGee.
    
                      "At least two other vehicles swerved to avoid the (Nissan),"
                       McGee said. "Something wasn't right with the vehicle."

                       Marie Saurel, 33, her daughter, Cindy Saurel, 12, and two
   		       children--Diana Richemond, 10, and Mazyno Richemond, 6, a
                       sister and brother--all were in the back seat when the truck
                       skidded and slammed into their car. They died instantly.

                       Driver Leroy Petit-Simon, 46, and Marie's brother, Andris
                       Pierre, 43, were in the front seat and also died in the
                       Nissan.

                       McGee said it is unclear why the car slowed down.
                       Investigators will examine the engine again today and
                       interview more witnesses to help determine why the car was
                       traveling so slowly in the northbound Exit 7A lane to
                       Holcomb Bridge Road. One witness said the car had stopped
                       completely, McGee said.
      
                       Witnesses said the car had its hazard lights flashing, but
                       they were dim, McGee said. Alcohol wasn't a part of the
                       accident and the Nissan appeared to have had gas because
                       investigators smelled it after the accident.

                       McGee said Moore was a contract driver for the U.S. Postal
                       Service and was going to the Roswell post office at Grimes
                       Bridge Road. He has been a truck driver for more than 30
                       years and Sunday's crash was his first serious accident,
                       McGee said.

                       The Haitians had been traveling from Good Samaritan Baptist
                       Church off Dresden Drive in north Atlanta. Cindy sang with
                       other children in the church's Haitian Father's Day
                       celebration.

                       They lived in various apartments in Roswell along Holcomb
                       Bridge Road and Ga. 400.

                       Raymond Joseph lived across the hall from Apartment 1465D in
                       Kings Bridge apartments where Pierre and Marie and Cindy
                       Saurel lived. The two families had prayed and talked and
                       shared a meal together Saturday night.

                       Pierre, a cook, had a wife and three children back in Haiti
                       to whom he sent money. He'd wanted to save enough money to
                       go back home and build a house for his family, Joseph said.

                       Joseph and Pierre were from the same town in Haiti and had
                       known each other for 15 years, Joseph said. Like many
                       Haitians, he'd come to the United States to escape the
                       poverty and violence of his homeland.

                       Cindy, who would have started in the sixth grade at Holcomb
                       Bridge Middle School this year, loved singing. She sang a
                       song Saturday night during the gathering at Joseph's
                       apartment.

                       "That made joy for everybody in the house," Joseph said.
                       "She sang for me Saturday night. Something I will never
                       forget the rest of my life."

                       Petit-Simon, the driver, was a custodian at Roswell High
                       School. He sent portions of his paycheck home to his wife
                       and four children. He'd begun trying to bring his family to
                       this country.

                       His niece, Eliene Lynn, was at Petit-Simon's Harmony Bay
                       apartment Monday afternoon where relatives and friends
                       gathered to cry and mourn together.

                       Lynn said relatives are struggling to fly in for his burial
                       that will be held in metro Atlanta.

                       "He wanted them to be here," Lynn said. "He didn't get to
                       accomplish that before he went. Maybe they'll get to be here
                       for his funeral."