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Phoenix, AZ (KNXV) — Authorities say a mother and her young son were killed in a four-vehicle chain-reaction crash on State Route 51 in Phoenix.
The state Department of Public Safety said 31-year-old Jennifer Vegtel of Phoenix and her 5-year-old son were killed Monday night when their sedan was struck from behind by a pickup and that the impact then caused collisions with two other vehicles.
School officials with the Scottsdale Unified School District released a statement Tuesday morning, confirming the identity of the boy killed as Logan Vegtel, who was a kindergarten student at Redfield Elementary. The district said they are providing a team of counselors at the school for students and staff.
Vegtel’s mother told ABC15 she spoke to her daughter on the phone shortly before the crash.
“She said ‘love you bye,’ and I said ‘love you bye,” said a tearful Jodi Edger. “We’re not allowed to hang up the phone without saying ‘love you bye’ because you never know when you’re not going to see that person again. So I told her ‘love you bye’ and now I’ll never see her again.”
Family members described Jennifer and her son as having bubbly personalities.
“I love her, I mean she’s my daughter,” said Jennifer’s stepfather, Lisle Edger. “Logan, he’s full of life.”
DPS spokesman Kameron Lee identified the driver of the pickup as 34-year-old Edgar Ramos-Esteban of Phoenix, and said he was given a citation alleging failure to control his vehicle to avoid a collision.
It’s not immediately known whether Ramos-Esteban has an attorney who could comment on the allegation.
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