The physical injuries to Holly Klein and her daughter Deva Szymankiewicz will take far less time to heal than the emotional ones.
“Some moments I’m OK,” said Klein. I find other moments I can’t think at all.”
“It just seems like this should have never have happened,” said Deva Szymankiewicz. “You read about this happening to other people and it's tragic but it happened to us. Sometimes I still can't believe it.”
The two women were the only survivors of a deadly Thanksgiving Day car crash. Klein’s 14 year old son Dakota and Szymankiewicz’s husband Todd, her 5-year-old son Casimir, and 3-year-old daughter Aoibhin died when the van they were riding in was struck by an 18-wheeler on Texas Highway 103 near Lufkin.
“They were all very young,” said Szymankiewicz. “It's not something you expect or plan for. “What’s happened is so life changing I don’t think we know what we’re going to do right now.”
The two women were severely injured and airlifted to University Medical Center Brackenride in central Austin.
“I have a broken collar bone, a fractured rib, and collapsed lung,” said Klein.
“I had a fracture in my hip and two herniated discs in my neck,” said Szymankiewicz.
Sunday night they spoke with swollen eyes and heavy hearts as they remembered their loved ones. Klein said her son loved and excelled at math.
“His friends often called him a human calculator,” said Klein. "My sister has a Masters in math. Dakota was bringing his homework to her house for Thanksgiving so she could help him figure out the problems.”
Szymankiewicz talked about her son's love for elephants, her daughter's flare for fashion and her husband's love of family.
“My son was very passionate about elephants almost obsessed with them,” she said."He could tell the difference between African and Asian elephants.My daughter would always pick the most outrageous outfits. She had quite a fashion sense. My husband was a very special guy. I just don't think there is another one like him.”
A memorial fund to help the families with expenses has been set up. Donations can be made to The Szymankiewicz Memorial Fund or Klein Memorial Fund at Austin Federal Credit Union located at 1900 Woodward in Austin.
