Mother of Chapel Hill train crash victims speaks out

By Tosin Fakile

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    NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WSMV) — A mother in mourning spoke with WSMV4 for the first time after the loss of her three children that were killed in a train crash in September in Chapel Hill, Tennessee.

Maria Celeste has 5 children and three of them; 22-year-old Duvraska, 25-year-old Magyory and 29-year-old Jose are now gone, and it happened in one day.

“They were marvelous. For a mother, no kid is bad,” said Maria Celeste in Spanish and translated by Carmen Garner.

A GoFundMe account helped raise enough money to bring Celeste from Venezuela to Tennessee to say goodbye to her children and help cover funeral expenses.

“A part of me died with them,” Celeste. said.

Celeste told WSMV 4′s Tosin Fakile she started having children in her twenties. She’s now 55 and was getting ready to enjoy having adult children.

“That was the plan, but everything changed overnight,” Celeste said

Her three children were killed in late September on an overpass on Depot Street when a train crashed into their car.

“Duvraska was working that day, and she had a delivery to Chapel Hill, Marshall County,” said Rocky McElhaney, an injury lawyer representing Celeste. “She didn’t know where she was going so her brothers and sisters hopped in to go with her.”

“They were so young. They have so much to live for,” Celeste said. “Maybe God wanted to take them together. They wanted to be together, but it is a horrible pain,” she added.

The mother said her children came to America for better lives. Her youngest Duvraska was a fighter.

“She told me, ‘Mama, I’m leaving. Here in Venezuela, I can’t do anything. I want to study medicine,” Celeste said.

Celeste said Magyory was timid.

“She studied to be a chef in Venezuela. She liked pastries and baking. She decided she wanted to study in United States,” Celeste said.

As for her son, she said Jose talked to her on the phone every day.

“He was very spontaneous with a very big heart,” Celeste said.

At the time of the crash, those living in the area told WSMV 4 the intersection was dangerous for drivers. Their mother is hoping what happened to her kids will help bring change and possible legal action.

“What I really want is honor my kids and I want them to be the last people that die there,” Celeste said. “I don’t want more people dying in that place because it’s lacking a lot of things. No good signs.”

Celeste’s attorney agrees.

“What we want to convey to the community or Chapel Hill is that help is on the way, McElhaney said. We are going to do all we can do to not only protect this family but to protect all the families in Chapel Hill to make sure this intersection — this crossing — is changed.”

For the mom who hadn’t seen two of her kids in four months and her youngest in three years, she told WSM4′s Tosin Fakile what she wants them to know.

“I miss them very much. I want to go back in time to have them with me,” Celeste said. “I have five and I love them all, but the love for each is different because each one is different, and I am crying for each one in a different way. The pain is the same, but I cry in different ways because the three of them are different.”

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