Sounds of music, song and sorrow swelled inside a small South Miami-Dade church on Saturday, as loved ones of victims killed in an August semi-truck crash on Florida’s Turnpike gathered to say their last goodbyes.
News of the crash made national headlines and landed one man in jail, a truck driver, Harjinder Singh, 28, who authorities say caused the deaths by making an illegal U-turn with his 18-wheeler, blocking the northbound lanes of the highway.
The crash took the lives of driver Herby Dufresne, 30, and passengers Faniola Joseph, 37, and Rodrigue Dor, 54. The three were visiting South Florida, where they had once lived, before returning home to Indiana. Dor and Joseph died at the scene. Dufresne died later at the hospital.
Inside Princeton Church of the Nazarene, two white coffins—matching and gleaming under the sanctuary lights—rested side by side holding Joseph and Dufresne. Nearly every seat in the church was filled, the air thick with grief and gospel.
READ MORE: ‘It’s a big loss for us.’ Family mourns Haitian immigrant killed in truck crash
Dor’s service had been held two weeks earlier on Sept. 20, at Haitian Evangelical Baptist Church. He was laid to rest at Vista Memorial Gardens in Miami Lakes.
In Princeton, the community came together to mourn Dufresne and Joseph, two friends who had died together and were buried at Palms Woodlawn Cemetery in Naranja.
Joseph was remembered as a woman of remarkable strength, someone who, as one loved one put it, was “born only to give love.”
She stood as a pillar for her family—a steady presence and a nurturing soul. At the heart of her life was her daughter, Angeline, whom friends and relatives said Joseph raised to be both resilient and tender, reflecting her mother’s own spirit.
Angeline was unable to attend the funeral because she lives in the Dominican Republic.
“She served as a guiding star for her family, and today, even though she is no longer with us, her light will always shine in our memories and prayers,” a loved one said in Creole during the service.
A loving father, brother and son
Dufresne was born in Port-au-Prince, the only son among five children, and was the father of two young daughters.
“He had a lot of love for all his family and friends. When he met you, he would hug you with a big smile on his lips,” said his cousin, Oscar Cedieu, speaking in Haitian Creole.
The service itself pulsed with sound with horns blaring, drums pounding and voices rising in song. Friends, relatives and reverends took turns at the podium singing in memory of a man who himself had loved music, playing several instruments.
Yet even the loudest music could not drown out the anguish. Sobs and screams split the air. Women clutched children in their arms, weeping uncontrollably. Some had to be carried out when grief overcame them. At one point, a woman fainted and was lifted out of the church.
Dufresne’s sister Katy Dufresne painted a picture of her brother: strong, kind, a man who cooked with passion and sang every morning in the kitchen.
“He loved to sing a lot in the morning,” she said at the podium in Creole. “The first thing that will wake you up is a song.”
But she also shared his hesitations about leaving Haiti. Though he was approved to come to the United States in December 2023, Dufresne had confessed that he didn’t want to leave their mother behind. Still, he sought a better life. Katy’s last memory of him was their visit together, with Joseph and Dor, just before the crash.
In one of their final conversations, he had told her she was the strength of their family.
‘Justice and reparations’
The fatal crash rippled far beyond South Florida’s Haitian community—it reached the Sikh community as well. Authorities have charged Harjinder Singh, a Sikh, and the truck driver in the fatal crash, with vehicular homicide. Singh is being held at the St. Lucie County Jail on no bond.
READ MORE: Sikhs rally at St. Lucie jail to honor three who died in Turnpike truck crash
Sikhs for Justice, an activist group, stepped in to cover funeral costs and pledged $100,000 in humanitarian aid for the victims’ families. The donation came entirely from Dr. Bakhshish Singh Sandhu, a Pennsylvania-based physician and co-founder of the group, who attended Saturday’s service and spoke during the service.
“No words can measure their loss, but we have stood with them to ensure their loved ones are laid to rest with dignity,” said Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the group’s general counsel.
READ MORE: Truck driver in fatal Florida Turnpike crash expresses grief in first statement
The aid was distributed in coordination with Haiti’s Consulate General in Miami. Consul General Yverick Delerme Cyril personally thanked the organization for its support.
Singh’s immigration status and commercial license sparked national debate, with Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican leaders seizing on the case as a flashpoint in immigration.
Back inside the church, Joseph’s cousin Fekel Morisette took the podium and called the congregation to its feet.
“Justice and reparation,” he said—then asked the packed church to repeat the words after him.
