'Now I got no team': Newton mother reels after death of children, fiancé in fiery crash
Friday night was always date night.
So on the afternoon of May 26, Digna Melendez-Benavente was waiting for Andrew Benavente, her longtime fiancé and the father of their children, to pick her up after work.
First they would drop off the kids, A.J., 13, and Madelyn 5, at relatives in Newark and then the two of them would go out for dinner.
Madelyn FaceTimed her and said, "We're coming, Mommy!" A few minutes later, Benavente called and said, "We're on our way, baby!"
It had been a long week, and Digna, a makeup artist at Sephora, was excited about the night out.
But they never showed up.
Instead, her phone rang with unfathomable news: Her family had been killed in a car crash.
Benavente's 2001 Ford Ranger pickup had been struck by a driver who had crossed the double yellow lines into the wrong lane of traffic. Bruce Cseh of Blairstown, 22, had smashed into Benavente's truck with such force that it burst into flames.
Benavente, a retired Newark police officer, Madelyn and A.J. were all killed in the crash. Cseh was extricated from his vehicle but died later of internal injuries. The crash remains under investigation.
"My babies were precious. My husband was precious. People all over the world wish they had what I had," Digna said between sobs in a phone interview Sunday.
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She met Andrew after he graduated from the police academy and she earned her associate's degree in cosmetology, she said. She was arguing with her friends at a pizza store in Newark one night when Benavente spied her from across the room and walked over. He tapped her on the shoulder and said, "A beautiful girl like you shouldn't be mad."
The pair were together for 15 years in a union Digna describes as "perfect."
"There was no better father than Andrew. It was important to me to find the one that would be the best father. He was the best of the best. He took care of all of us," she recalled.
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Digna's brother Edwin Melendez, who said he was still in shock, added that Andrew was "a big teddy bear of a man with a loving heart. He was always smiling. He was our rock. He didn't deserve an end like this."
Children didn't come easily to the couple. After several miscarriages, Digna finally gave birth to a healthy boy. "We felt like millionaires," she said. "A.J. was our miracle baby."
When he was growing up, A.J. was sad that he didn't have any brothers or sisters as his friends did, his mother recalled. She told her son that she couldn't have any more children. But one day, before his 8th birthday, she found out she was pregnant, and A.J. was overjoyed. "He always took good care of his sister," she said.
"A.J. would write stories People loved his scary stores. When he grew up, he wanted to be a police officer like the rest of the family. He was a smart boy. He made the honor roll," she said.
Edwin added about A.J., "His jokes and pranks were legendary."
Edwin said his sister and brother-in-law made a great couple. "They were always having get-togethers. They used any excuse to gather the family together and make parties."
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Edwin launched a GoFundMe page to help provide financial support for his sister. The funds are needed to cover funeral costs and any other support she needs afterward, he said.
"I don't know what it will be like to bury three people at the same time," Edwin said. "I love my sister. I don't know what else to do for her. She's got nobody now."
Digna bought her daughter a beautiful new dress for her kindergarten graduation, which was to take place in two weeks. Madelyn, who never got a chance to try it on, will now wear it for her funeral.
"Madelyn was a firecracker," Digna recalled. "She was sassy and bossy and sweet. She wanted to rule the world."
"Madelyn was adorable and she knew it. She was a princess. She was in all of our hearts," Edwin said. "I don't know how this could happen. I'm still in shock. These children were Digna's life."
The crash was the first fatal accident in Sussex County in 2023, but the deadliest to occur in the county in several years, according to data from the New Jersey State Police. In 2022, 14 people died in automobile accidents in Sussex County.
Fatal automobile accidents are down more than 21% in New Jersey in 2023 after rising for considerably for the prior two years, the data show.
Andover Township Police Chief Eric Danielson was among the first to respond to the scene and said a volunteer firefighter from Sparta attempted to use his firefighter's coat to shield the three victims in the pickup from the gathering flames.
At the same time, Danielson said, he and others who responded to the scene used a chain to pull the Jeep away from the pickup to keep it from catching fire as well.
While the investigation is just beginning, Danielson said, there were several eyewitnesses who said it appeared the Jeep "crossed fully into the oncoming lane." He said there were no indications that the driver swerved to avoid an animal or obvious skid marks. The speed limit on that part of the highway is 45 mph.
"There's lots still to be investigated," Danielson said, noting that there will be an attempt to recover the "black box" from the Jeep, a 2021 model. A black box on modern vehicles gathers information before, during and after a crash, such as speed, acceleration, braking, steering and airbag deployment.
The pickup is a 2001 Ford and does not have a black box.
He said the pickup was an "extended cab" style with side-facing "jump seats" behind the front seat. The girl was in one of the the side seats while her brother was in the front passenger seat.
"This was a very tragic accident, and we feel for the families," the chief said.
He confirmed that the family was heading to visit relatives in Newark and Cseh appeared to be headed home to Blairstown.
Danielson said this was the worst accident, in terms of fatalities, that he has seen.
Digna said she always tried to share important life lessons with her kids. She would tell them, "Every day is a new day to bring a smile to others and that will bring a smile to your face, too," she said.
Referring to the myriad challenges in their lives, "It didn't matter how hard the world kept hitting us," Digna said, "we took it all as a team.
"Now I got no team."
Deena Yellin covers religion for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to her work covering how the spiritual intersects with our daily lives, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: yellin@northjersey.com; Twitter: @deenayellin
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Newton family remembers father, children killed in crash as 'perfect'
