Make New York Post a Preferred Source An illegal immigrant who was playing YouTube while speeding behind the wheel of a semi-truck crashed into a family of five, killing a mom and two kids, according to authorities.
Olga Sorbalo, 35, and her kids Luis, 8, and Samir, 4, were killed Monday while heading to the airport to fly home to Vancouver, Wash. after visiting family in Kansas City, the Kansas City Star reported. Olga’s husband, Liviu, and their youngest child were hospitalized in critical condition.
Semi-truck driver Eldar Skander, 39, smashed into their Honda Odyssey at “a high rate of speed,” triggering a “chain reaction” involving three other vehicles, according to court documents — which noted that “there were no signs of emergency braking by the semi-truck.”
A responding investigator “grabbed an electronic tablet off the [truck’s] floorboard that was open to the YouTube application,” the docs stated.
“The tablet had velcro that matched to the velcro on the center dashboard of the semi-truck cabin that was viewable by the driver.”
Skander, a Chicago native who only suffered minor injuries in the horrific crash, is a Ukrainian national who entered the US illegally, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said while announcing he is being held on an immigration detainer.
“ANOTHER BIDEN-RELEASED ILLEGAL ALIEN INVOLVED IN CRASH THAT KILLED THREE AMERICANS,” the agency said.
“Reckless open-border policies have resulted in countless preventable tragedies.
“Three more innocent American lives were lost. Two children who will never get to grow up, and a mother who will never get to watch them grow. These deaths were tragic and preventable. No other family should have to endure this loss.
Skander has been charged with three counts of first-degree involuntary manslaughter. It was not immediately clear when he came to the US.
An online fundraiser for the surviving family members had raised more than $160,000 by Thursday.
“Liviu Sorbalo lost his beloved wife and two precious young children. This heartbreaking loss has left their entire family, relatives, friends, and church community in deep sorrow,” the fundraiser said, noting that Olga was the daughter of a church minister in her home of Vancouver.
“No amount of money can replace the lives that have been lost, but together we can help ease the financial burden and surround this family with love and care.”
