BOWIE, Md. — Grandparents of some of the children killed in a horrible early morning crash Saturday on northbound US 301 near Pointer Ridge Road walked through the scene in disbelief Monday.
One grandmother held a child's hair beads found in the grass in her palm.
"I'm just going to take these as a little memory for me," said Stephanie Lloyd.
Lloyd is the grandmother of 6-year-old Rickell Ricks who died in the accident.
"She loved to dance and she was very intelligent," said Rickell's father Ricardo Ricks, speaking on the phone from his home in South Carolina. "She had a beautiful spirit."
Along with Ricks, Maryland State Police identified the victims as London Dixon, 8, and Paris Dixon, 5, who were siblings from Bowie, and Zion Beard, 14; and Damari Herald, 15, of Washington, who were Rick's brothers.
Police described the group as an extended family.
The children were riding unrestrained in the back seat of a 2005 Chrysler Pacifica that careened off Rt. 301 northbound near Pointer Ridge Road at 4:30 am Saturday. The car smashed through brush and trees before spinning into an open field near a storage unit business.
All the teens and children riding in the back were thrown from the car.
The driver was Dominique Taylor, 32, who is the mother of London and Paris, according to police.
She survived along with an adult passenger Cornell D. Simon of Oxon Hill, Md.
Family members say they do not know where the group was coming from at the early hour when the crash happened. Police said they were headed to a home in nearby Bowie where the Dixon children lived.
Police have not determined a cause for the crash and a full investigation is not complete.
Seat belts are legally required in Maryland and booster or car seats are also required for all children under 4'9" tall.
The remains of a booster seat still sits at the scene of the accident, but police say there is no evidence any of the children were belted in.
No charges have been filed so far.
The results of the pending State Police investigation are likely to be referred to the Prince George's County State's Attorney for decisions on possible charges.
Nearly 40 percent of children killed on U.S. highways are riding unrestrained, according to the National Institute on Highway Safety.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for all five victims.