From left: Olga, Luis, Samir and Liviu Sorbalo (GoFundMe). Right: Eldar Skander (Jackson County Jail).
A semitruck driver who had YouTube open on his tablet had more than 20 seconds to stop before he allegedly smashed into the back of a car carrying a mother and her two young sons, killing them, on a Missouri highway, cops say.
Eldar Skander, 39, stands accused of three counts of first-degree involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of 35-year-old Olga Sorbalo and her sons, Luis, 8, and Samir, 4.
The crash occurred around 3:20 p.m. Monday on U.S. Highway 71 near E. 19th Street in Kansas City, the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office said.
According to a probable cause arrest affidavit, Skander was driving the semi when he slammed into a Honda Odyssey, triggering a chain-reaction crash involving a Honda CR-V, a Ford Explorer and a FedEx truck.
There were seven people in the Odyssey, including Sorbalo and her two sons, who were pronounced dead at the scene, and a 2-year-old who suffered serious injuries. The drivers of the CR-V and Explorer also were critically hurt.
Investigators found a tablet on the floor of the semitruck with the YouTube app allegedly open. The tablet was apparently mounted on the center console, in the driver's view, before the crash, cops said.
Officers also determined that if Skander had been driving the speed limit, he would have had 20 to 22 seconds to see the stopped vehicles. But there was no evidence that Skander hit the brakes, the affidavit stated.
Police continue to analyze the data within the truck and review camera footage that may have captured the incident.
The Sorbalo family was visiting relatives in Kansas City and was on the way to the airport to fly home to Washington state, the Kansas City Star reported.
Olga Sorbalo was one of 14 children of a pastor who led a church in Vancouver, Washington, her brother told local ABC affiliate KMBC.
"She always preferred to be on the positive side of things, and that's how she'll be remembered," said Sorbalo's brother, Eli Cosovan.
He added: "We have our comfort in knowing that they are with Jesus and we know that it was for a reason. We don't know what reason or why, but at least we have that comfort and hope."
As of Wednesday afternoon, a GoFundMe has raised about $150,000 to help transport the victims back home for their funerals.
"This heartbreaking loss has left their entire family, relatives, friends, and church community in deep sorrow," the description said.
Skander remains in the Jackson County Jail on a $150,000 cash-only bond. He also is being held on an ICE detainer. The defendant declined to speak with investigators about the crash.