Methuen,MA : Fifth auto-auction crash victim mourned on may, sunday 14th 2017

Mario Lantigua struggled on Sunday to describe the pain he and his family is feeling.

"It's a big family, so everybody's helping out," he said. "Everybody's looking after each other... we're all coping together."

On Saturday, Lantigua's brother, Ruben Espaillat, died due to injuries sustained during the Lynnway Auto Auction crash earlier this month. Espaillat, 55, was pronounced dead at Lahey Hospital, according to a statement issued by Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan's office.

He was the fifth victim to die from the tragedy that shook Billerica and beyond. In addition to Espaillat, Brenda Lopez, 48, and Pantaleon Santos, 49, both of Rhode Island, Leezandra Aponte, 36, of Lowell, and Elliott Rowlands Jr., 50, of Buzzards Bay, died from injuries from the May 3 tragedy.

Preliminary results of the investigation show that a SUV driven by 76-year-old Roger Hartwell, an auction employee, accelerated into a crowd of hundreds at one of Lynnway's weekly auto auctions. The 2006 Jeep Cherokee only stopped after slamming through a wall. The investigation into the tragedy is being carried out by the District Attorney's Office, Billerica Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section Unit.

Espaillat, who ran Ruben Cleaning Services in Methuen, bought and sold cars sometimes, according to Lantigua. That's what brought him to the Lynnway Auto Auction that day.

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Fifth auto-auction crash victim mourned