WASHINGTON — To his family members, 47-year-old Demetrius Fultz was a jokester who loved making others laugh. He often worked long hours and cared deeply about his career as a project manager. He was known as "Tony," and was a proud father and husband.
Last Sunday, however, his life was tragically cut short after he was involved in a fatal crash with a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) bus.
Fultz's 10-year-old son was also inside the cargo van that crashed. As of Tuesday night, the boy was still receiving treatment for critical injuries he suffered.
Now, his family is praying they don't have to experience another painful loss just days apart.
The crash occurred along the 3300 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in SE Washington, D.C. early Sunday morning.
According to investigators, Fultz was driving when the van drifted over to the other side of the road and hit a WMATA bus head-on.
Emergency crews pronounced Fultz dead while his son was rushed to a children's hospital in critical condition.
On Tuesday, Fultz's heartbroken family spoke to WUSA9 about the crash and the pain they are dealing with.
Dematria Fultz, Demetrius's wife, said she knew something was wrong on Sunday morning when she looked outside her window and saw emergency crews nearby.
"We were coming from a memorial service for my cousin that had passed away 15 years ago," she said. "When I got home I was trying to call my husband and he didn’t pick up his phone.”
"I saw the ambulance. I saw the police and the fire department. I didn’t know what was going on at the time," Fultz added, through tears. "When I went over there to see what was going on, I saw my husband's van crashed.”
Fultz said she was informed that her son was taken to a nearby children's hospital to be treated for brain fractures and a cracked skull.
Two days after the crash, she said the loss of her husband made life tough to bear.
"He really wanted us and my children to be whole and do the right thing through God," Fultz said. "My husband had a genuine heart. He was a loving man and he’s going to be so missed by so many people.”
Aside from the deep pain of losing Demetrius, other family members described their prayers for the 10-year-old to make a recovery.
Preston Fultz, Demetrius's brother, remembered back when he would convince the boy to go to football practice after he spoke of wanting to stop playing. With the boy now in the hospital, Fultz said he wished for him to come home.
"I know he’s critical and I’m praying for him that he’ll pull through. I need him to pull through," he said, through tears. "I need him to pull through.”
The Fultz family knows the pain of losing a loved one sadly all too well. Years after losing her other brother, Eric, Demetrius's sister, Tamika, hoped Demetrius could now join him in Heaven.
"[Demetrius's] presence gave us this comfort and now he’s not here to give us that comfort," she said. "I try to take comfort in knowing that he is with Eric.”
WMATA said that the bus operator and four passengers on board suffered minor injuries.
As of Tuesday evening, a GoFundMe effort to raise money for the Fultz family had raised over $2,600.