Father after fiery crash: 'I thank God that he left me one child'

"She said, 'Ric, Angie was in a car accident, and Isaiah, Isaiah didn't make it,'" Nunez said Wednesday.

The mother of Nunez's two sons, Angela Jones, 32, was driving the boys on Interstate 40 in Johnston County when, investigators say, she made an illegal U-turn, crossed the median and ran into the path of oncoming traffic.

The four-vehicle collision happened near the 322 mile marker.

A 911 call released Wednesday revealed the shock of drivers near the scene.

"There's a really bad accident. The car is actually on fire. The car just burst into flames," one caller said.

"A vehicle just jumped the median. There will be fatalities. (The car) was just crunched in two," another caller said.

Jones and 9-year-old Daniel were taken to North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center at UNC Health Care, but 11-year-old Isaiah Jones died in the fiery crash.

"That's my boy. I can't believe my boy is gone," Ricardo Nunez said.

Looking at the tattoos of his sons' names that he bears on his arms, Nunez remembered a budding chef.

"He was smart and extremely helpful," he said. "He loved food. He loved to help me around the house, cook."

Dwight Solomon, a witness to the crash, said Angela and Daniel Jones were able to escape their SUV, but Isaiah was trapped inside.

Though she was badly injured, Solomon said, Angela Jones was concerned about her son, who was barely visible through the smoke and flames.

Solomon said he grabbed the door and tried to yank it open, but it was stuck and it was too late to help the boy. That is what Solomon said stuck with him.

“I keep second guessing, was there anything I could have done different,” he said. “I just hate I couldn’t save that one boy that was in the back.”

Angela Jones remained in critical condition on Wednesday.

Nunez said Daniel was improving.

"He's blistered up on his face," Nunez said. "I barely recognize him, but I know its him.

Now, Nunez must figure out how to bury one child and support the other one.

"I just thank God that at least he left me one child. He could have taken them both."

In addition to Jones' car and the truck, two other vehicles, a total of four involved, were caught up in the crash and two other people were injured. One person has been treated and released, and the other was in critical condition on Wednesday.