A family of four was found dead in Idaho after their 17-year-old daughter fell asleep behind the wheel of their car and drove off a cliff, killing herself, her father and two siblings. Calvin Miller, 36, was taking his three kids – Dakota, 17, Jack, 10, and Delilah, 8 – to see their grandfather on Saturday when their vehicle plummeted 30 feet into the Salmon River.
According to police, Dakota, who was driving the car as she was accompanying her divorced father and two siblings to see her ailing grandfather in hospice care, fell asleep due to fatigue from the family's 274-mile trip from their home in Spokane, Washington, to Council, Idaho.
Tragic End of a Family
The accident happened north of the city of Riggins when Dakota fell asleep on a curvy road and the vehicle went off a cliff, falling 30 feet into a river on Saturday, police said. The car was first spotted by a fisherman who saw the vehicle partially submerged in the river. Police believe that all four died by drowning in the river.
"Dakota drove off the highway, striking a large pile of rocks, sending the vehicle airborne," the incident report reads.
"The vehicle struck another large pile of rocks, flipping the vehicle over end and landing upside down in the Salmon River."
Deputies think the family drowned after water entered the vehicle through a damaged window, the report said.
Zella Blair, the mother of Jack and Delilah and Miller's ex, said her family was devastated by the news.
"I don't know if I can get used to them not coming through the door after school and yelling for me again," Blair, who was co-parenting her kids with Miller, told KREM2.
"They were huge. They were my whole life."
The distraught mother claimed that she had left Jack and Delilah with their father on Friday so that they could spend the weekend with him and that she was not aware of his plans to go see their grandfather.
Blair claimed that Miller's current girlfriend, Amberlynn Weber, informed her of the tragig news.
"I just dropped to my knees. I just started crying. I couldn't believe it," said Blair.
Noone to Console
Blair said she feels really bad about Amberlynn, who was a loving stepmother. "I feel really bad for Amber though because she did lose all four people of her household," said Blair.
"Even though they weren't her blood kids. She was always really great to them. Calvin and Amber were always wonderful."
Amberlynn's stepfather Scott Henri described Miller as "a truly exceptional human being." "His kind heart and sensitive soul, not to mention his amazing sense of humor, brought a richness to our lives that can't be replaced," said Henri.
"He'd found his soul mate in Amberlynn, he fiercely loved her and all of his children and family."
Henri praised Dakota for having "a generous and caring heart" and for eagerly looking forward to her life beyond high school.
"Jack just turned 10 and was so proud to be in the double digits. He was so smart, loved to read, could figure anything out and was going to make waves in the world," he said.
"Our sweet Delilah, Calvin's younger daughter, would have been nine in August.
"She was so creative, loved to draw and color and was talented."
