FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – She has been trying to stay strong, but this weekend has taken a toll on Linda Dudley, whose niece was on life support and declared brain-dead after a crash Friday that killed her 35-year-old fiancé, Steven Olivert.
By Sunday afternoon, Danielle Baldwin, 32, Dudley's niece, had died.
"Danielle suffered severely," Dudley told Local 10 News reporter Terrell Forney on Sunday.
Baldwin and Olivert were celebrating their 12th anniversary when the driver of a black 2016 Kia struck the rear of the couple's green 1996 Nissan, which was stopped at a red light at East Oakland Park Boulevard and North Federal Highway.
The impact caused the Nissan to hit another vehicle, and the Kia struck two other vehicles.
Olivert was pronounced dead at Broward Health Medical Center.
The driver of the Kia tried to flee the crash scene but was later located and taken to Imperial Point Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.
"I see some guy running out of the smoke and the dust of the accident," John Galiano, who witnessed the crash from Mattress Land, told Local 10 News reporter Liane Morejon.
Galiano said the man came into the store shaking and looking dazed.
"He comes running over to us (and says), 'Can you help me? Can you help me?'" Galiano, who is an assistant manager, said. "He looked real scared and hurt."
The man then laid down on one of the showroom mattresses. He took his clothes off and walked out of the store after being asked to put them back on.
"When he came in and laid on the bed, he put his face on the pillow, so there's blood there," store manager Steve Iona said. "So I saved it in case they needed it for the investigation."
Meanwhile, the families of Olivert and Baldwin are in mourning.
"It's been torture to me," Baldwin's mother, Gloria Dudley, said. "I lost my daughter. I lost my son-in-law."
Police are investigating the crash.
Olivert and Baldwin's families have created a GoFundMe account to raise money for memorial services.