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Family grieving after mother of 4, her newborn son and her boyfriend killed in Arlington crash

A roadside memorial in North Texas now marks the spot where a young mother of four, her newborn son and her child's father was killed.

ARLINGTON, Texas — Editor's note: The story previously stated that the victim, Alexius had four daughters, but it's been corrected to reflect she had two daughters and two sons. 

A roadside memorial in North Texas now marks the spot where a young mother of four, her newborn son, and her son’s father lost their lives.

The survivors of the victims include four children, as the family tries to make sense of the crash on a service road that claimed the couple's lives.

The victim's sister has become the backbone of the family as they navigate through incredible grief.

"It's been kind of like a dream. You know like, 'Is this real, is this really happening?" said Leddy Harris. 

In her first in-person interview, Harris talked with WFAA about the past 48 hours, calling it nothing short of a nightmare. She fought back tears talking about her little sister being gone. She has had little time to grieve in front of the family.

While Harris has always been the problem fixer and go-to person, her sister Alexius was known as "the counselor" of the family. But when Harris got the call from her sister's 12-year-old daughter that Alexius had not returned home Saturday morning, she took action.

"She was with her daughter the night before. It was her daughter's 12th birthday, her oldest daughter,” Harris said. “She called and said, ‘My mom never came back home.’ She went to help and never came back home."

Harris comforted her niece and started working on a plan to get to the bottom of Alexius’ whereabouts. Eventually, she contacted the authorities for help, never expecting hours later she would get the worse news of her life.

"It had been about nine hours,” Harris said. "We filed a missing person report with the police. It had not been long enough for them to do that, but they immediately started looking into it, to find out what was going on when she didn't return. Then, we got the phone call."

The day of the crash  

Alexius had answered a call from her boyfriend, 28-year-old Justin Dike Saturday morning, and she went to the Highway 360 Access Road to help him with a flat tire. That's when, Arlington police said, 31-year-old Adan Hermosillo Garcia crashed into the couple.

Garcia is suspected of drunk driving, according to police records obtained by WFAA.

The impact of the crash on the access road killed the couple.

Arlington police said Alexius’ baby boy, Wyatt Dexter, was delivered at the hospital, but he did not survive.

RELATED: Pregnant woman, her newborn baby among 3 dead in crash on Highway 360 service road, police say 

Remembering Alexius

None of it has been easy for the victim's family.

"It's hard," Harris said. "It's been hard, very hard, we have not had a chance to mourn, yet."

Harris is now taking care of her sister's two daughters. Alexius also had two sons. The children range in age from 4 through 12. Harris is helping her nieces remember Alexius for her giving spirit and good Samaritan heart.

"Sometimes I would tell her that was her flaws," Harris said. "You have got to stop helping everyone else and try to help yourself."

Harris also shared her favorite photo taken with her little sister, who also had to approve every snapshot they took.

Credit: Victim's sister, Leddy Harris

Harris has always had plans to handle their family crisis. This has been the biggest challenge ever, with the responsibility of caring for her four nieces. She is not only strong in her faith but believes in her heart that Alexius is watching over them.

"For once in my life, I really didn't know what to do," Harris said. "Last night I prayed to God and I asked, ‘Alexius just please tell me what you want me to do? I have always had a plan, tell me what you want me to do.’"

After people started asking what they could do to help Alexius’ four kids, Harris set up a GoFundMe account. All the donations will go to Alexius’ two daughters and two sons. 

Harris said her family has not only heard from friends, neighbors, and colleagues but also strangers wanting to help the four surviving children.

"Drunk driving is a big issue in the state of Texas," said Harris. "Families all over Texas have been affected by drunk driving. I was not going to set up a GoFundMe account, but people just kept asking, ‘how can we help.’ This is a new beginning for them. We want to just start over fresh."

Alexius had plans of following in her big sister's footsteps by finishing her health care education once her baby boy was born. Alexius had some rough patches in life, according to Harris, but she had gotten her life on track and grew even more into a good Samaritan. That made the two sisters even closer.

Credit: Leddy Harris

"I am going to miss her so much," Harris said. "There are so many people that are going to miss her."

Harris plans to attend the hearings and court dates for the suspect in her sister’s case. She has already spearheaded the funeral services.

If you would like to help donate to Alexius’ four children, click here to visit the GoFundMe page.

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