Pastor says Bonney Lake family was full of joy
Apr 14, 2015, 3:50 PM | Updated: Apr 15, 2015, 9:40 am
(EastPointe Foursquare Church Facebook photo)
The community of Bonney Lake is mourning the loss of one of its families killed when a concrete barrier fell from an overpass and crushed their truck Monday morning.
Pastor Shane Lance told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson Show that his family was very close to Josh and Vanessa Ellis and they were full of joy.
Related: Couple killed by concrete barrier in Bonney Lake were youth pastors
“They were sweet, very lighthearted, very funny, hysterical even at the wrong time sometimes but in the best way,” said Lance, who works at EastPointe Foursquare Church where Josh and Vanessa were youth ministers.
Also killed was the couple’s 8-month-old son, Hudson.
“How do you reconcile this?” Dori asked.
“There’s nothing to understand. There’s very little about the situation that I can fathom,” Lance said. “I don’t know much, but I know God is good. And that’s how I cope with this.”
The community held a candlelight vigil Tuesday night and a gofundme page has been set up for the Ellis family.
Lance said that the community is still very much in shock, but they’re coping. He said Vanessa’s mom lived with the young couple.
“She was heartbroken and we would pay any amount of money to get even one of them back,” he said. “But I think there was some solace in knowing they got to go together. I think if you could choose to go all together, I think a lot of people would punch that ticket if they could.”
Bonney Lake Police said the family died after a 40-foot section of concrete and scaffolding fell on the truck at Angeline Rd E & SR 410.
Officer Darren Wolshleger told Dori Monson it was immediately apparent no one could have survived.
“It’s the worst possible place that it hit, that it happened,” he said. “There was just nothing left.”
Wolshleger said it was the worst thing he’s ever seen on the job.
It’s not clear what caused the barrier to fall.