Three Manhattan Family Member Die on car crash

Rosa Marte, 71, her 46-year-old daughter Angela Marte and her 22-year-old granddaughter Rosanny Marte were all killed on Interstate 95 in Wilson, N.C., east of Raleigh.

Rosanny Marte, seen above, was driving the family sports utility vehicle when investigators say the car blew a tire, she lost control and the SUV overturned.

One witness told state troopers that the driver was swerving in and out of traffic before the tire blew.

"She ran off of the left side of the road, traveled back across the interstate, ran off the right side in the emergency strip. And the vehicle, she overcorrected at that point and the vehicle began to overturn," said North Carolina Highway Patrol Officer Lee Cox.

North Carolina state troopers said all three women who died were not wearing seatbelts and that two of the women were thrown from the car.

"It would have definitely increased the changes with the two who were ejected from the vehicle. If they had stayed inside the vehicle, it would have greatly increased the chances that they would have survived the crash, with minor injuries," said Cox. Five other family members in the car who wore their seatbelts -- 75-year-old Nicholas Marte, 43-year-old Reyes Marte, 14-year-old Juan Baez, 12-year-old Christina Marte and 10-year-old Nicholas Marte -- survived, were hospitalized and were expected to recover.

Investigators did not believe alcohol was involved in the crash.

Locals in Washington Heights were stunned to learn from news reports of the Marte family's great loss.

"I went pale, I was very nauseous, I wanted to vomit," said John Mazo, a family friend. "I told my wife, 'Go sit down, because this is not good news, it's very bad.' One of the gentlemen came over and he told me what had happened. And I basically sat down, opened my laptop and tried to look in the Internet, seeing the news, what happened. And that's when I saw it."

"It's outrageous to me, this is a big tragedy. Three generations gone in an instant," said another resident. "It's very tragic and I was very saddened about it."

The Martes are Jehovah's Witnesses who live in Washington Heights and attend a church on West 160th Street.

Rosanny Marte was active in the church and had hoped to do ministry work.

"She was a Jehovah's Witness, I'm also a Jehovah's Witness. She wanted to serve the community, going door to door. I'm sure you know about that," said Mazo. "She wanted to do that full time and spread the good news, ministry work."

Reyes Marte is a building superintendent, and neighbors said they often saw the close-knit family together.

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• jehovah's
• witnesses

[SHANAROBERTS903]

Your family will be in my prayers....jwsister