Husband Of Woman Killed In Holmesburg Accident Hires Attorney
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The husband of one of the three women killed in a fiery crash in Holmesburg on Sunday is struggling as he prepares to bury his wife.
The family has hired an attorney and is looking for answers.
December 20th is a day Joseph Barton's will never forget. It was the day he lost his wife, 25-year-old Amonie Barton, when the rented Camaro she was driving crashed into a parked tractor-trailer, causing an explosion.
She died along with the two passengers in her vehicle.
"She was everything... everything," says Joseph Barton, "she was my best friend, we did everything together."
Barton says he met Amonie when she was 13. They married five years ago, and even though they were separated, he says they were close.
"There was not a day that went by that I didn't talk to her, didn't see her, didn't text her," he says.
Now, with Christmas near, Barton is trying to pick up the pieces. He has to hold it together for he and Amonie's two children, Jordyn, 5, and Jayden, 7.
"I told them mommy's in heaven," he says, "but I know I have to be strong for them."
But he has questions. How and why did Amonie die?
"We have a laundry list of people who I think are potential violators," says Shaka Johnson, an attorney representing the family.
Johnson says his law firm is preparing a lawsuit. He believes city ordinances made parking tractor trailers along this stretch of Torrresdale questionable, at best.
"If that tractor-trailer wasn't there," says Johnson, "Amonie maybe has a vehicle accident and with medical care is still with us and not burned up in a fiery grave."
Philadelphia police have said the tractor trailers were legally parked along Torresdale avenue under the Holmesburg bridge. However, there are "no truck parking" signs in the vicinity of the crash. It is unclear whether those signs apply to the area where the tractor trailers involved in the crash were parked.
In October, City Council Bill No. 150786 was introduced and if passed, it would have banned all truck parking on both sides of Torresdale Avenue, from Linden to Rhawn Street. Representatives of the Holmesburg Civic Association told KYW Newsradio they supported the effort.
A visit to the intersection of Rhawn and Torresdale on Wednesday revealed tractor trailers are still parked along the stretch of road where the accident happened, but at least two of the trailers had been ticketed for parking violations.
Barton says they'll bury Amonie with a closed casket next week. He says her body was so badly burned her children cannot see their mother. To help ease the burden on the family, Barton is raising money for Amonie's funeral and for Jayden and Jordyn's future.
"It's going to be hard," says Barton, "it's going to be rough to get through but I have two kids to be strong for."
For more on the GoFund Me Page set up for the Barton Children, go to www.gofundme.com/jaydenandjordyn.
