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"My family is gone. I have nobody": Denver man mourns wife, daughter killed in firetruck crash

DPD still investigating crash at Broadway, Speer
Benjamin Hendry
Posted at 9:57 PM, Jan 30, 2021
and last updated 2021-01-31 12:23:07-05

DENVER -- Benjamin Hendry's life has changed forever.

"My family is gone man," he said. "I have nobody."

The 59-year old Lincoln Park resident is still coming to terms with a fatal crash that killed his wife, Deborah Williams, and his stepdaughter, Monica Charles.

Monica & Deborah

Ms. Charles was driving south on Broadway last Saturday, when a Denver Fire Department rescue truck, heading northwest on Speer, broadsided their car.

Charles, 38, of Commerce City, died in the crash. Williams, 53, of Denver died four days later.

Charles' boyfriend, who was in the backseat, remains hospitalized.

Firetruck crash

"I had friends out here that said a little car...was balled up like a piece of paper. They had to get the jaws of life to pull them out," Hendry said.

Hendry told Denver7 that he saw a story about the accident on TV, but didn't pay attention to it. He said he didn't learn about his wife and daughter's death until the following day, when police knocked on his door.

He said his wife spent several days hooked up to life support at a local hospital, and that her sister told him, some of Deborah's internal organs, including her heart, were donated.

"My wife is kind-hearted. She's lovable. She'll go out of her way to make you happy," he said. "She pulled me off the streets."

Investigation

Investigators are still trying to determine who may have been at fault.

During a news conference Monday, fire officials told Denver7, that no matter what the investigation shows, they want to make sure "we learn from it, and that we do whatever we can to make sure this does not happen again."

Hendrey is still having a hard time coming to terms with what happened.

He said his daughter was going to bring some shears back to trim the fur on Rain, their big cat.

Now, Rain is all he has left.

"The love of my life is gone. The person I wake up next to in the morning, she's gone. My daughter, she's gone. I have nobody man."

Hendry said his wife's name was on the lease, and rent was paid through the end of the month.

"I don't know what I'm going to do next," he said.