Commerce City – A father and son were returning from picking up a puppy, an early birthday gift for the 2-year-old boy, when they died in a head-on crash along with the man’s 8-month-old nephew.
Barry McDonald Jr., 20, his son Arion and his nephew Jason died Wednesday night when the Mitsubishi Eclipse in which they were passengers was passing traffic and collided with a Dodge 3500 pickup in the oncoming lane.
On Thursday, stunned McDonald family members and friends gathered at the home of McDonald’s parents, where they huddled on a front porch and shed tears.
“He was always smiling, and laughing, and happy,” Barry McDonald Sr., 41, said of his grandson Jason. “He was working so hard on how to crawl, he would have had it pretty soon.”
McDonald Sr. and his wife, Janet, lost two grandchildren and their only son in the collision, which was so grim it shook emergency responders and police officers at the scene.
The puppy, a miniature pinscher, also died in the crash.
Carlos Rosario-Cruz, 20, of Thornton, the driver of the Eclipse, was treated for injuries at Denver Health Medical Center and released.
William Hall, 62, the driver of the pickup, was treated for injuries at University Hospital and released.
McDonald Jr. had called his father on a cellphone Wednesday just before the collision. He told his father they were close to home and would be there shortly, and the phone cut out. McDonald Sr. called back but got no answer, he said.
The Eclipse never arrived.
“When he didn’t show up,” McDonald said, “we kept calling and calling and calling.”
The family then called 911 and asked if there had been any car accidents.
A short time later, state troopers and a victim’s advocate arrived to break the news.
Rudolph Saiz, Janet McDonald’s brother, said the family is struggling with why Rosario- Cruz took an apparent risk.
“When you have little kids in the car, you have to be more protective,” he said.
Rosario-Cruz is a friend of Brandi McDonald, Jason’s mother. He couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday.
The two cousins in the car were in child safety seats, but both were ejected. The force of the crash was so severe, it severed the car seat belt attached to one of the safety seats, said Trooper Eric Wynn.
Investigators are still trying to determine whether the second safety belt was sheared. McDonald Jr. was also buckled in.
The crash, which happened on Colorado 2 about a half mile south of East 96th Avenue, remains under investigation, Wynn said.
McDonald Sr. said his son was passionate about classic cars, and the two men had been restoring a 1960 Chevrolet Impala. They worked for the same security company, where the elder McDonald was his son’s boss.
Arion would have been 3 Aug. 21.
Staff writer Kieran Nicholson can be reached at 303-820-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
