May 23, 2009 9:25 am US/Eastern
Queens Boys Orphaned In Tragic N.C. Crash
Queens Church Rallies To Side Of 3 Surviving Boys
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Killed in the head-on crash were Wayne Pride-Hicks, Natalie Keisha, son Wayne Jr. and daughter Natalia.
CBS
Four members of a Queens family, gone in an instant.
They were on their way to a reunion when their minivan crossed the median into oncoming traffic in Surry County, N.C.
Killed were a mother and father and two of their five children.
That horrific crash took from a Jamaica church a big part of its heart and soul. Four members of a family gone in the blink of an eye.
Wayne Pride-Hicks, his wife, Natalie Keisha, and their five children were inside their minivan when the unthinkable happened. On Interstate 77 the vehicle drifted into oncoming traffic after police said he fell asleep. The head-on crash with a truck and car killed the couple, their oldest son, Wayne Jr., and daughter, Natalia, who everyone called "Lee Lee."
On Friday grief filled the church, the home away from home for the family.
"I'm still numb if I can put it that way," said Shirley Williams, co-pastor of the Community Church of Christ. "I still can't believe I won't see them again. It hurts so bad."
Wayne Pride-Hicks was one of the leaders of his congregation. The couple's wedding took place at the church.
On Thursday the family set out from their Inwood Road home for the marathon drive to Mobile, Ala., for a long-overdue family reunion.
"His natural father he had not seen and they having a family reunion," Pastor Lester Williams said. "He invited them to come, sent them money. They left yesterday and North Carolina is where they met their fate."
"It's really shocking and it really hurts that I saw them Wednesday," neighbor Cleo Batten added. "We talked a while about the weather and that he was taking a trip."
The three other sons, now orphaned, have no close relatives in New York. Two of them attend P.S. 50. The congregation stands ready and more than willing to surround Elijah, Josiah and John Bishop with care and love.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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