Michael Groth is at the hospital with his two surviving children. He is surrounded by family and says with their support he'll able to work through the pain of losing his wife and young daughter.
Alyssa Groth and her three children were on their way to her stepmother's house to deliver cupcakes the kids had made when she lost control of her car and swerved into oncoming traffic. Groth and her 5-year-old daughter Gracie were killed. Six-year-old Emma and 3-year-old Colton survived. All three kids were properly restrained.
We spoke to Groth's husband Michael on the phone.
"I went home last night and I just walked around and was touching things. It was basically like it was supposed to be when I got off work," Michael Groth told us.
He said his wife, who was in her mid 20's, remained devoted to their family as she pursued her dream of working with special needs kids.
"She had gone back to school and she had graduated and was about to get her GRE, which is like a masters program. She wanted to go to the top," Groth said.
Crisis counselors at Kuehnle Elementary where Emma and Colton go to school have already reached out to the family. Groth's 5-year-old daughter Gracie was about to start a special program at nearby Beningus Elementary. The school staff there is said to be devastated.
"She just wanted to have fun; always, always, always have fun. She was my daredevil child right there," said Groth.
He said while he may never know what caused Tuesday's deadly crash, what's important to him most is being there for his two kids.
"Just day by day, that's all you can do. That's how we are going to do it. I have people tell me that over and over again. But we're going to get through this," Groth said.
Emma suffered some broken ribs and a fractured pelvis. Colton has just a scratch on his head and is awake and alert, watching cartoons from his hospital bed. He may be released from the hospital on Thursday.
