Last Friday, a tragic incident occurred on I-35W in Denton County, where three sisters from Guatemala lost their lives in a multi-vehicle crash, as confirmed by authorities and Argyle police. 65-year-old Elia Orozco of Northlake, her sisters, 69-year-old Odilia Orozco Gonzalez de Alvarez, and 63-year-old Gladis Orozco Gonzalez De Cifuentes, were visiting Texas when the crash took place near the Crawford Road exit. According to FOX4 News, the collision involved six vehicles and claimed the lives of these three women.
The crash was initially responded to by passerby drivers who attempted to render aid, performing CPR on the victims two of the sisters who flew in from Guatemala to visit their other sister, now identified among the deceased. Tanner and Katie Bachman, a couple from Ponder with their children in the car, witnessed the crash and Tanner alongside other drivers tried to save the women; however, despite their efforts, the sisters did not survive. "I know there was nothing more myself or others could’ve done," Tanner said, "But you still have that guilt like there was more I could’ve done", he told FOX4 News. His wife, Katie, went to assist other victims, including a man with severe hand injuries, at the linked second crash scene.
News of the fatal accident spread, capturing international attention when it was revealed by former Guatemalan vice presidential candidate Efrain Orozco that the deceased were his sisters, as he shared on social media. This sentiment was echoed by Carlos Pineda, Efrain's former running mate who conveyed his condolences online, with information sourced from Central American news outlets and detailed by Cross Timbers Gazette. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's office further identified the victims, though the hometown of two of the sisters was not specified.
While the immediate aftermath saw traffic on I-35W being disrupted for over four hours due to the investigation and cleanup, at least three more people were injured in the collision and survived, though their conditions have remained unreported. The authorities have not concluded whether the driver of the pickup that struck the sisters' SUV will be facing criminal charges and have ruled out alcohol as a contributing factor in the preliminary findings, with families and surrounding communities now mourning the loss and raising funds to return the sisters to their homeland in Guatemala, an undertaking wrapped in both grief and the complexities of transnational logistics.
