ST. MARYS, Ga. — A community in St. Marys is shocked Sunday after learning of a crash late Saturday night that took the lives of a young couple and their 4-year-old son.
Florida Highway Patrol reported three people were killed when a 2019 Hyundai Elantra collided head-on with a 2007 Toyota Rav4 at around 11:40 p.m. Saturday. The driver of the Hyundai, who has not been identified, was on the wrong side of State Road 24 when the crash happened, according to FHP.
The FHP report said a family of four was traveling northeast in the Rav4. Both parents, identified as Christopher M. Hesling, 30, and Brittany Trowell Hesling, 31, were killed, and the two children were taken to UF Health Shands, the report said.
The couple's first child, 4-year-old Jack, was taken from the scene in critical condition. FHP has not updated his condition since the crash, though friends of the family on social media say he succumbed to his injuries.
First Coast News is working to confirm this through official channels.
The couple's 6-month-old daughter, Maggie Hessling, sustained minor injuries, according to FHP.
First Coast News spoke with neighbors of the Hesling's. Records show the couple had purchased a home off Mahan St. in St. Marys in 2015, and residents in the area said the young family seemed very happy.
"[Chris] had the kids out there playing about every sport imaginable," said Robert Anderson, who lives across the street.
Neighbors told First Coast News that Christopher worked at Naval Submarine Base King's Bay, and his Facebook profile indicates he was a marketing director at MWK Mayport. Neighbors said Brittany worked in a day-care on base.
Christopher graduated from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Anderson said football was often a topic of conversation.
"He really loved his family, he really did," Anderson said. "It was very obvious that he played an integral part in their development and tried to get them to experience whatever they could at such an early age."
According to social media, Brittany's birthday was Saturday. She had given birth to her daughter in May.
"We're in the beginning stages of a very in-depth, very thorough, very lengthy triple homicide investigation," said FHP spokesperson Lt. Patrick Riordan.
If the couple's son is confirmed to have died, the investigation will become a quadruple-homicide.
The driver of the offending vehicle was not immediately identified because the vehicle they were driving had caught on fire after the crash. Traffic on State Road 24 was rerouted for hours.
"I don't know why the crash happened, I don't know whether it was distracted driving, whether it was DUI. It doesn't change the results, so it's tragic. You know life is precious and we see that every time that we see one of these crashes that results in a fatality," Riordan said.