Frankfort reacts to deaths of 8 residents in Mexico car crash
FRANKFORT, Ind. (WISH) — Community leaders in Frankfort said the eight people killed over the weekend in a car crash in Mexico were spoken of highly in the community and known for being generous.
Frankfort Police Chief Scott Shoemaker said, “These are huge losses not only for the family but for the community. From what I am hearing, they will do anything for anybody.”
The eight people who died were identified as father Guadalupe Mejia Sandoval, 38, and his children Jesus Mejia Garcia, 14, and Jocelyn Mejia Garcia, 11; Fernando Garcia, unknown age; Jesus Angeles, 39; Maria Cuevas, 59; and Blanca Guzman, 34, and 1-month-old son, Gabriel Guzman.
They “were traveling on an interstate and struck an overturned semi,” Shoemaker said. “The Suburban they were traveling in immediately burst into flames and all eight occupants died.”
Jocelyn was a fifth grader at Suncrest Elementary School, and her brother Jesus was a freshman at Frankfort High School.
Superintendent Matt Rhoda of Community Schools of Frankfort said, “The fifth-grade classroom that Jocelyn was in, it was very difficult for that fifth-grade classroom today with that loss. It was a loss at the high school for not only the students but the staff who worked with not only Jesus but Jocelyn. And it was a loss at the middle school; Jesus was at our middle school last year.”
Rhoda said the kids were well-liked across the district. “They were not only involved in our schools but in our community at large, and I know they had a number of friends at both schools.”
Jesus Angeles’s wife, Maria Guadalupe Garduño Moreno, provided News 8 with a statement about her husband.
“My husband was a great person with a great heart who enjoyed helping other people and a great father. We will always remember you with lots of love and we know we have an angel who is going to watch over us and protect us,” Moreno said.
The Learning Network of Clinton County works with many members of the Hispanic community. That organization is coordinating efforts to raise money for the families. Any donations will go toward funeral expenses and returning the bodies to the United States. You can learn more about their efforts here.
