Trinidad Crash Survivor To Lay Out Accusations Against Driver

TEANECK, NJ — Mary Rose Ballocanag, the lone survivor of the crash that killed her husband and four daughters, will outline the accusations against the driver she says is at fault in the crash at a press conference Friday afternoon.

Ballocanag, 53, is upset that Alvin S. Hubbard Jr., 44, the driver of the Ford F-350 that crashed into the family's minivan on Route 1 in Delaware, has not been criminally charged in the case. He was released from the hospital earlier this week.

"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," said Diane Lucianna, Ballocanag's attorney. "Our main concern is getting Hubbard criminal prosecuted, that's what she wants to see."

Lucianna's law firm, Lucianna & Lucianna, is a civil litigation law firm that specializes on getting compensation for people injured in motor vehicle crashes, slip and falls, and workers compensation incidents.

Lucianna said her client could potentially receive "an infinite amount of money" as a result of the crash. But that is not her goal.

"The money is not that important to them. That doesn't change the fact that this woman's family was wiped out," Lucianna said. "The most important thing is getting justice for her family. That's what she wants the most."

But the wheels of justice turn slowly. Cpl. Jaffe said the Delaware State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit is still investigating the crash.

"That could take months," Lucianna said. "They are beside themselves that this man is walking free."

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 vehicle and crash into the other vehicles. There were no indications of drug or alcohol use by Hubbard following the crash, Lucianna said.

However, according to an eyewitness, Lucianna said, Hubbard was driving "crazily" before the crash occurred.

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.

Lucianna said she wants to know why no guardrail has been put up on the grassy median between the two sides of the highway.

Ballocoanag and Trinidad's children were: Kaitlyn, 20, Danna, 17, and 13-year-old twins, Melissa and Allison. The family lived in Teaneck.

Ballocoanag is recovering at a Bergen County rehabilitation facility.

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," said his brother, Danny, told the publication. "That's why he joined the Navy."

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.

Ballocanag is working to help finalize the funeral arrangements for her husband and daughters. Lucianna said those arrangements would be finalized soon.

"She has to sit in a wheelchair at the funeral because of her injuries," Lucianna said. "She is in horrible pain."

Related:

• Grieving, Love For NJ Dad, 4 Daughters Killed In Delaware Crash
• Trinidad Family Crash Survivor Being Moved To NJ Facility
• Wrong-Way Driver ID'd In Delaware Crash Where 5 In NJ Family Died
• NJ Mother Who Lost Husband, 4 Kids In Crash Speaks: Report

Email daniel.hubbard@patch.com

Photo: 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)