Michigan Family of 5 Killed in Wrong-Way Crash on Highway

LEXINGTON, KY— Five family members from Michigan were killed early Sunday after a suspected drunken driver heading the wrong way on Interstate 75 in Kentucky struck their vehicle, authorities said.

The southbound pickup truck driver being driven in the northbound lanes struck the family’s SUV at around 2:30 a.m. in Lexington, Lexington police said. The SUV caught fire and all five occupants of that vehicle died, along with the pickup truck’s driver.

“I thought I was seeing something, honestly,” Kenneth DeGraaf, a witness who saw the pickup truck driving toward him prior to the fiery wreck, told “He was in the center lane. I was in the center lane. I had to merge out of the way at the last second to get to the right lane. I mean, he was flying. Absolutely flying.”

The family from Northville, Michigan, was returning from a vacation in Florida, the Fayette County coroner’s office said. The coroner identified the family members as Issam Abbas, 42 and Rima Abbas, 38, along with their children, a boy Ali Abbas, 14; and girls Isabella Abbas, 13, and Giselle Abbas, 7.

The coroner’s office identified the pickup truck driver as Joey Lee Bailey, 41, of Georgetown. Authorities believe Bailey was driving under the influence and toxicology tests were planned.

Lexington police were asking the public for help in their investigation.

According to the Islamic Center of America of Dearborn, Michigan, set the funeral services for the family at the center.