Tragedy for Good Samaritan Twins Who Tried to Help Driver

25-year-old Marcasia Crenshaw was struck by passing truck; sister Markwonda escaped in time
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 14, 2017 8:23 AM CST
Tragedy for Good Samaritan Twins Who Tried to Help Driver
Markwonda Crenshaw, left, and Marcasia Crenshaw.   (Handout, via MyPalmBeachPost.com)

One sister ran one way, the second sister ran the other—and now one is dead after the women stopped to help a stranded motorist on a Florida highway. The Sun Sentinel reports 25-year-old Marcasia Crenshaw and her twin, Markwonda Crenshaw, were driving back to Boynton Beach on Sunday night after a visit with their mom in Jacksonville. As Marcasia drove them along I-95, with Marcasia's 5-year-old son and Markwonda's 2-year-old daughter dozing in their car seats, the sisters saw a disabled Dodge Sprinter just outside of Titusville, its emergency lights blinking, smoke pouring out, and its air bags deployed. The driver of that vehicle was 23-year-old Yuri Kosolapenko, who'd been involved in a crash, per a Florida Highway Patrol report. "We pulled over to make sure everyone was OK," Markwonda says. "Who wouldn't?"

MyPalmBeachPost.com adds the Good Samaritans felt compelled to stop because an off-duty cop had "rescued" them in August when they got a flat tire. But as the sisters neared Kosolapenko's vehicle, 23-year-old Dalton Vancor drove by in his Chevy pickup truck and had to "aggressively brake and swerve" to avoid the Sprinter pulled over in an inside lane. Both sisters tried to get out of the truck's way, but police say the right side of the truck hit Marcasia. "When I turned around, she was in the grass," Markwonda says. "She wouldn't move." Although Markwonda is CPR-trained, there was nothing she could do to save her twin. "I can't eat, can't sleep, crying, I'm just in disbelief," Markwonda tells the Sun Sentinel, adding the only thing keeping her going are her daughter and Marcasia's son. (This Good Samaritan lost both legs while helping a crashed motorist.)

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