Family speaks out about aftermath of Gonzalez siblings' deaths; other driver posts bond
WAUPACA — A few minutes and one pickup truck driving the wrong way changed a family's lives forever, with ripple effects crossing continents.
Almost a week after the Gonzalez siblings — 9-year-old Daniela, 14-year-old Lilian, 23-year-old Fabian, and 25-year-old Daniel — died as a result of a crash on U.S. 10, their family in Wisconsin and Ecuador are dealing with the aftermath of their deaths only days before Christmas.
During that time, they've had to reckon with both the justice system and the reality of family bonds crossing borders. But as they've done so, their community in Wisconsin has rallied around them.
Gonzalez siblings part of a large, close-knit family that's lived in Wisconsin for decades
According to a cousin, Luis Gonzalez-Quizhpe, the siblings' mother Paulina Gonzalez moved to Wisconsin from Ecuador because other members of her family, including Gonzalez-Quizhpe's father, had lived in the Waupaca-Weyauwega area since the '90s. She also was seeking more opportunities for her children in America. In 2017 she married Kurt Schilling, a pastor at Emmaus Lutheran Church in Waupaca.
Gonzalez-Quizhpe remembers growing up near the Gonzalez siblings, with "constant visits" to each others' homes. He and his siblings were close with the Gonzalez family, he said.
"They were all good kids," Gonzalez-Quizhpe said, "respectful, hardworking to a T ... loved by all who knew them."
Daniel regularly played music with his relatives and had been rehearsing for a New Year's Eve celebration the day before he died, he said. Fabian was outgoing and adventurous and enjoyed visiting relatives in Ecuador. Lilian loved taking care of animals and her younger cousins. And Daniela, nicknamed "Danielita," was a small girl with an outsized personality.
The two older brothers "always did everything together" and looked out for their younger sisters, Gonzalez-Quizhpe said.
"That's why they were all together that night."
Community supports the Gonzalez-Schilling family after tragedy through helping with funeral expenses
In the wake of the Saturday crash that took the siblings' lives, Gonzalez-Quizhpe said "having that community embrace us ... has been overwhelming."
A parishioner at Emmaus who set up a GoFundMe, Trisha Loehrke, said that Schilling had been her pastor since 2015 and the congregation was "fortunate" to have him there.
"Pastor and Paulina have gone out of their way to ensure every church member and community member are supported in their time of trouble," Loehrke said. She hoped the money would "help, even in a little way," with funeral and memorial expenses.
In addition to Loehrke's page, Gonzalez-Quizhpe also set up a GoFundMe to help the family pay for funeral expenses and the cost of burying the siblings in Ecuador. As of Friday, the two pages had raised a combined total of over $150,000.
The community has also shown their support in other ways, too. Two area businesses, JD's Cafe and Weyauwega Star Dairy, have put donation jars for the family at their checkout counters. And the Weyauwega Area Chamber of Commerce shared a Facebook post suggesting that community members place a heart in their windows.
Other driver in wrong-way crash posts bond
For the family, too, part of reckoning with the tragedy is "receiving the justice they deserve," Gonzalez-Quizhpe said.
The other driver in the wrong-way crash, Scott Farmer, 47, Neenah, has been charged with four felony counts of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, According to court records, Farmer posted $750,000 cash bond Dec. 19. Prior to this, he had been in custody at the Waupaca County Jail.
At his initial appearance Dec. 18, Waupaca County assistant district attorney Veronica Isherwood had asked judge Raymond Huber for a $4 million cash bond, WLUK-TV reported.
Farmer’s attorney, Alex Gelhar, requested a lower bond but did not seek a specific amount. He said Farmer has strong family and financial ties to the area “that could indicate to the court that he is not a flight risk.” The judge reduced the bond to $750,000.
Schilling was unhappy with the bond amount approved for Farmer, saying, "$750,000 after killing four beautiful people’s lives, our children. Where’s the justice in that?”
While Gonzalez-Quizhpe called the cash bond amount "an insult," he also hopes that in this case "the final verdict is representative of all the pain and loss" the family has suffered.
Family hopes to bring surviving sibling to Wisconsin, asks public not to drink and drive
In the meantime, while his GoFundMe has met its goal, Gonzalez-Quizhpe said he would leave it open and "up to the public" how much they want to contribute towards repatriating his cousins to Ecuador. The siblings' relatives are also working on securing a visa for the Gonzalezes' surviving older brother, Jorge, in order to reunite him and Paulina.
Gonzalez-Quizhpe hopes some small part of the siblings lives on: literally in Daniel's case as he was an organ donor, and in how others remember them. "Their lives were more than just this incident," he said.
Finally, with the holiday weekend approaching, Gonzalez-Quizhpe implored the public to "stay safe, don't drink and drive, and don't be afraid to ask for a ride if you need it."
Contributing: Associated Press.
Rebecca Loroff is a breaking and trending news reporter for northeastern Wisconsin. Contact her with story tips and feedback at rloroff@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Family speaks out about aftermath of Gonzalez siblings' deaths
