Wetaskiwin rallies for single mother of 3 sisters killed in highway crash

The thing Denise Soosaysays she misses most is all the laughter.

Three of her daughters were among five people killed on June 5 in a highway crash near Millet, about 60 kilometres south of Edmonton.

• 3 sisters among 5 dead in Alberta highway crash
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Without them, her home inWetaskiwinis painfully quiet, Soosay said.

"They were my babies," she said."All of them had different characteristics, but they were all beautiful ... I have beautiful memories with them, since the day they were here until the day they left. They were my special babies and now they're angels."

They were my special babies and now they're angels.- Denise Soosay, mother

SistersLateshaNorthwest, 23,CheyaneSoosay, 22, and Dominique Northwest, 19,were living in Wetaskiwin when they died.

Two other peopletravelling in the same vehicle TerrelleMinde, 22, and her boyfriend, Anthony Swampy, 30were also killed in the crash.

On Saturday, the town rallied in support of Soosay. The local Legacy Dodge dealership hosted a barbecue fundraiser and a silent auction, raising more than $3,000 for the single mother and her youngest daughter.

"It's such a traumatic thing," general manager Ross North said."It would be hard to lose one person in your family, let alone three.

"We've got a lot of help from the community to pull this off and raise money for her. And hopefully it'll help her."

Soosaysaid she plans to put the money toward a fresh start in Camrose, Alta., leaving behind her Wetaskiwinhome of 15 years that's full of painful reminders of her three girls.

"They're up in heaven and they're watching over us ... giving me the strength to live day by day."