JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A West Virginia husband and wife were among five people killed in a head-on crash Tuesday.
The Florida Highway Patrol said Daniel Eden, Jr., 29, and Brandy Eden, 24, both of Sistersville, were in a car that crossed the center line of State Road 21. Daniel Eden was driving the vehicle.
The couple was killed along with David Eden, Jr., 31, of St. Augustine, Fla., and Rebecca Bates, 46, of Keystone Heights, Fla. The driver of the other vehicle, Chelsea Lynn Johnson, 22, of Melrose, Fla., also died.
The Edens’ children, Danny, 4, and Madison, 2, survived the crash and were being treated for serious injuries at a Jacksonville hospital.
“They both have internal swelling in their brains,” a family member told WJAX-TV in Jacksonville. “They both had some bruising to their lungs, so we are just trying to rally all the family. We are left to raise these kids. In a time of need it’s definitely a lot to take in.”
Police were investigating what caused Eden to drive into the path of Johnson, who was returning from her husband’s police academy graduation at the time of the crash.