According to a GoFundMe account set up by loved ones, Jessica Woodruff, 45, and Jake Woodruff, 36, were killed when a giant redwood tree dropped on their car as they were driving down southbound Route 199 for their annual trip to celebrate Jessica's birthday last week.
According to GoFundMe, they have five children: Megan, Evan, Casey, Allie, and Chelsea.
There is no escaping the tragedy and trauma that Jessica and Jake's deaths have caused, and as we all know, there is a long and challenging road, especially for the children who have been left behind, as the page reads.
In an interview with family member Emma Miravalle Hood, Jessica's two oldest children from a previous relationship stood up to take on the burden of raising their three younger siblings. She also added that this family and these parents were such a modest, fun-loving couple that people could tell they were soulmates when you met them.
According to the California Highway Patrol, police officers responded to the incident shortly before noon on Thursday, March 25, in Del Norte County, California.
According to investigators, the car was driving southbound on the highway near Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park when the 175-foot-tall redwood tree dropped from the east side of the road onto their vehicle.
Jessica's cousin, Amanda Maffei, told a local news affiliate that the pair had been married for almost 13 years. According to the page, their children range in age from 8 to 24 years old. According to Maffei, the family started a GoFundMe because the older children are now responsible for, the younger ones.
"I believe they will find strength in each other," says their Aunt. She added that "They'll look out for one another, thanks to the generosity of so many different people and the support they've got. I'm hoping they will gain power from it as well."
As of Wednesday morning, March 28, the GoFundMe page had raised more than $240,000.
Reason for the accident that killed parents of five
The cause of the accident that totally crushed the passenger compartment of their 2016 Honda Civic is still under investigation, according to police and California Highway Patrol. The parents of five children suffered fatal injuries and died.
According to Brandy Gonzalez, the area is a heavily forested region, a spokesperson for the CHP office in Crescent City. We have trees all over the place. It's nestled in the redwoods. We have no clue why the tree fell; it's all old age. Mother Nature was to blame.
Gonzalez said that while trees fall from time to time, the fatal event was exceptionally unusual. Further, the weather reports were calm on that fateful day. There was even no significant pressure on the wind.
She described the timing of all as "extremely unusual." It's bizarre because I've been in the department for 19 years and in this field for 12 to 13 years. We've seen trees fall and cars crash, but this is an infrequent event.
