Community raises money to help Saldivar family bury six relatives killed in storm
Emotional scenes at a fundraiser for the Saldivar family on Saturday.The Saldivar kids Devyn, Dominic, Xavier, and Daisy, and their great grandma Bellia and great grandpa Emanuel all drowned when their van was overwhelmed by flood waters.
NORTH HOUSTON (Fox 26 Houston) - Hundreds of people came together on Saturday to raise money for the Saldivar family. They're the ones who were killed when floodwaters overwhelmed their van.
Blanca Saldivar said she tried to get to them to help, but couldn't.
"It was impossible to get there. The waters were really really high," she said.
The Saldivar kids Devyn, Dominic, Xavier, and Daisy, and their great grandma Bellia and great grandpa Emanuel all died.
The uncle who was driving the van escaped. Relatives said he can't stop reliving the terrible scene and that he blames himself.
He barely got out of an open window of the truck," relative Daniel Saldivar said. "He tried to rescue the other people but the water was way too swift and he was hanging on to them. All the kids were screaming in the back and that’s the last thing he remembers.”
In the days since, Daniel said his younger brother has been devastated.
“We told our brother it's just a tragic accident," Daniel Saldivar said. "He was suicidal for awhile and calmed him down and got him to where he’s okay.”
On Saturday at the Principe De Paz Church in North Houston, men, women and teens were all chipping in to help raise money for the Saldivar family to help them bury the kids and great grandparents.
"Right now we’re going through roller coasters. One minute we’re okay and then another we’ll start thinking about the kids and we’ll start crying all over again," the children's mother said. "Never thought something like that would happen to me."
On GoFundMe.com the family is accepting donations under the “Saldivar Memorial Fund”.