Just before 6 p.m. Friday, 47-year-old Cory Simmons was driving home in Washington when his car careened down a 100-foot embankment into a ravine. Simmons died, and his 4-year-old twins, Rosaline and Aurora, were in their car seats in the backseat of the car.
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"They are traumatized," Simmons' Aunt Rose Simmons-McGahuey told KOMO-TV.
The girls were able to climb out of a broken window and up the steep embankment, where a good Samaritan stopped to help them.
"I think they kept (saying), 'we got to do this, we got to go home, get mommy,'" Simmons-McGahuey said.
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She said the girls knew their father had died, but the family wants to work to ensure his memory is never forgotten.
They described Simmons as "the family butterfly" because he touched everyone. He was also a "jack of all trades," a builder, a painter, a concrete worker. He was a man who worked hard to care for his beloved family. He also had a 9-year-old named Hunter.
Washington State Police are investigating the deadly crash.