Wrong-Way MD Driver Must Face Charges In 5 Deaths, Says Mother

TEANECK, NJ — A New Jersey wife and mother spoke publicly Friday for the first time about what she wants to see happen to the wrong-way driver from Maryland's Eastern Shore, who reportedly crashed a truck into her family's car, killing her husband and four daughters. Mary Rose Ballocanag and her attorney, Diane Luciana, discussed what they want to see happen to Alvin S. Hubbard Jr., 44, of East New Market, Maryland.

She appeared with her attorney at a rehabilitation center in Bergen County, NJ, and said she plans to sue Hubbard for his role in the deaths of her family. "I have to bury my husband and four daughters," Ballocanag said. "I want justice for them. I want to see (Hubbard) criminally prosecuted. All my broken bones will heal, but not the unbearable pain in my heart."

Delaware police say Hubbard drove the wrong way on a Delaware highway when his pickup truck crashed into a minivan, killing the five New Jersey family members on July 6. His Ford F-350 pickup truck crossed a center median heading into oncoming traffic and struck the family's minivan, authorities said.

Ballocanag's husband, Audi Marquez Trinidad, 61, of Teaneck, N.J., was wearing a seat belt and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Delaware State Police. Also in the vehicle were their four daughters: Kaitlyn, 20; Danna, 17; and 13-year-old twins, Melissa and Allison, all of whom were not properly restrained and pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

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Watch the press conference replay:

Ballocanag and her attorney, Diane Lucianna said that, according to eyewitnesses, Hubbard was driving "crazily" before he crashed into the family's Toyota Sienna.

Ballocanag, 53, is upset that Hubbard has not been criminally charged in the fatal crash. "She is not happy with the criminal investigation so far because the man who was involved in the crash is walking free and her family is dead," Lucianna previously said.

Lucianna said the passenger in Hubbard's vehicle, identified by police as a 30-year-old man from Hurlock, Maryland, said that Hubbard may have experienced a medical episode that caused him to lose control of the truck and crash into the other vehicles. There were no indications of drug or alcohol use by Hubbard following the crash, Lucianna said.

A GoFundMe page set up for Mary Rose as she recuperates from her injuries has easily surpassed its $10,000 goal with more than $280,000 raised so far.

Hubbard was driving the truck on the southbound lanes when he hit a Mercury Sable, kept going, and then hit the Trinidad family's minivan in the northbound lanes, Lucianna said. The impact caused the Sable and minivan to leave the highway and end up in a ditch, police said.

Lucianna said Hubbard was using the Ford for work when the crash occurred. It was fully loaded with materials when it crossed over the grassy median and hit the family's vehicle.

SEE ALSO: Wrong-Way MD Driver ID'd In Crash That Killed 5 Family Members

Audie Trinidad grew up in the Philippines and, in 1987, he came to the United States when he enlisted in the Navy and served for seven years, according to The Record. "He was proud to be an American," his brother, Danny, told the publication. "That’s why he joined the Navy."

Kaitlyn and Danna/YouTube

Linda Douglas, a family friend who created the GoFundMe page, told nj.com that the family always prioritized their children.

“Audie was the family dad, he was always the dad to pick everyone up in the minivan,” Douglas told nj.com. “We traded off, but no matter whose sweet 16 it was you could always count on Audi.”

Kaitlyn and Dana were both setters on the Teaneck High School head volleyball team, according to the publication. “They were both great players who were loved by all of their teammates,” Teaneck head coach Sue Cipriano told nj.com.

Comedian Sara Contreras, known as the "Latin Diva of Comedy," was among a number of people who paid tribute to the family once friends, community leaders and family members identified them. She said Danna was a "lovely and brilliant Teaneck High School student and beloved friend of my extended family."

The crash happened at 3:47 p.m. on Route 1 in Townsend, Del. when a 2007 Ford F-350 pickup truck, traveling in the left lane, crossed a grassy center median and hit the family's minivan and another car, police said.

The pickup truck crossed over the center median "for unknown reasons" when it headed south in the northbound lanes, police said during a press conference.

The truck entered the northbound lanes where the Sable was traveling northbound on Route 1, just north of Pine Tree Road. The 1998 Toyota Sienna was traveling a short distance behind the Sable, police said.

The front driver’s side of the F-350 pickup struck the left rear-side of the Sable, causing the Sable to spin out of control and come to a rest in an embankment, police said.

The F-350 pickup continued operating out-of-control southbound in the northbound lanes when the front of the Sienna struck the passenger's side of the pickup, police said.

Story by Daniel Hubbard, Patch Staff

Photos: Audie Marquez Trinidad, 61, center, and Mary Rose Ballocanag, second from left, and their daughters, Kaitlyn, 20, Danna, 17, and 13-year-old twins, Melissa and Allison. (Courtesy of GoFundMe, a promotional partner of Patch)