DEARBORN (WWJ) - Hundreds of mourners are expected to attend funeral services for the Northville family killed in a tragic crash along I-75 in Kentucky over the weekend.
Services begin at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn for the Abbas family -- Issam, 42, and Rima, 38, along with their son Ali, 14, and daughters Isabella, 13, and Giselle, 7.
The family was on their way home from Florida early Sunday morning when a wrong-way driver hit them head-on and their SUV caught fire. All five family members died in the crash.
The other driver, 41-year-old Joey Bailey, was also killed. Police say he may have been under the influence. Toxicology tests are planned.
The family will be buried at the Islamic Memorial Gardens. Their deaths have devastated relatives and friends.
Habib Abbas of Dearborn, who identified himself as Issam's cousin, told The Detroit News that when he first heard about the crash he didn't believe it and went about his day.
"I thought it was a rumor or something and then saw it again and called his (Issam's) sister. She and the family are even more in denial," Abbas told the newspaper.
He added that Issam Abbas was a lawyer and that Rima Abbas was a doctor and devoted mother to their children. He said the extended family was close and that his cousin led a "beautiful life."
"You don't expect a whole family to get wiped out," he said. "You think to yourself 'What's the worst case scenario?' and that's it."