The tragic accident that brings the Dang family to Oak Hill Memorial Park is a distant memory for the public, but still painfully vivid for Thuytrang Dang's husband and their children.
On Nov. 23, 2012, Thuytrang, her brother, Quoc, and business partner, Thanh Nguyen, were killed in a bizarre crash on Highway 152 near Madera. The victims were immigrants who ran nail salons in the Central Valley and dreamed of putting their children through college.
Dang's daughter, VyVy Vo, said for a long time the family had no clue how the crash occurred.
"All I know for the past three years was that my mom was involved in an accident with multiple trucks," Vo said.
The law firm of Corsiglia, McMahon and Allard made a video reconstruction of the accident based on the CHP investigation.
In dense fog, a big rig driver hauling a 45-foot trailer tried to cross two lanes to get off the highway. The video indicates the driver only had three seconds to see an oncoming truck.
"He got impatient, we believe. He rolled his window down, stuck his head out," Attorney Brad Corsiglia said. "When he didn't hear anything he went for it, basically gambling."
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The second truck spilled its load of huge cotton bales. Another big rig hit the bales and swerved into the opposite lanes, crashing head-on into Dang's Honda Accord.
The video moved a jury to award each family around $4 million from two trucking companies. But more important to the Dang family, it provided answers and enough closure to move on.
"The animation shows that my mom's car was definitely not at fault," Vo said. "It is an important piece of evidence that will bring justice to my family."
