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Augustin "Augie" Gonzalez had three of his children in the car when his 2013 Dodge Caravan struck a tow truck stopped in the lanes to help a driver involved in a previous crash Saturday night, local news outlets reported.
The North Carolina dad was pronounced dead at the scene. His daughters Noelle, 6, and Gwendolyn, 2, died of their injuries at hospitals. Gonzalez' son Nicholas, 8, was treated for injuries at a local hospital.
Gonzalez recently graduated from Duke University with his Masters in Public Policy and was headed to Colorado to report back to his station "when the unthinkable happened," according to a GoFundMe campaign for his family.
His wife Melissa, a teacher, and their newborn baby Gabriel were on a flight to meet them.
"All the members of the Sanford community are greatly saddened by the tragic news of the passing of Augie Gonzalez and his two precious daughters," said Judith Kelley, dean of the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, in a Facebook post.
"Augie was an exemplary student, deeply engaged with life in our school, and it was with great pride that we congratulated him and his family on his graduation just two weeks ago when he was accompanied by his wife Melissa and their children. Our thoughts go out to his family during this trying time."
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