Community comes together to remember father and son from Prior Lake killed in traffic accident on the Ohio Turnpike

A religious ceremony was held at a home in Prior Lake on Wednesday morning to commemorate 46-year-old Tenzin Drukgyal and his nine-year-old son Dawa Norbu, who died in a traffic accident in Ohio last week.

Four members of the family had traveled east to meet the Dalai Lama at an event in New York.

Twelve-year-old daughter Tenzin Choedon is now in hospital and her mother was treated for injuries.

Family friend Sonam Wangchuk said Tenzin Drukgyal was very active in a Tibetan charity in the Twin Cities, adding that many looked up to his leadership.

“He has been working in the Tibetan community for some time, almost everyone knows him,” Wangchuk said.

“They are helping the mother who is here and the sister who is in the hospital in any way they can,” Wangchuk said of the community support. “The help we are receiving is really a big help to the family.”

A donation page has been set up to help the survivors of the crash.

In total, four people were killed and several others injured in a series of accidents involving multiple trucks on the Ohio Turnpike on Thursday, one of which leaked sulfuric acid, the State Highway Patrol said.

Traffic on the busy route, which carries Interstate 80 and connects Chicago to the East Coast, was closed in both directions for several hours.

The first accident, in the eastbound lanes west of Toledo, claimed two lives. A truck loaded with sulfuric acid and a car were involved, police said. Rescue workers set up a 46-meter-wide safety perimeter around the spilled liquid.

In a second accident involving four commercial vehicles and one passenger car, one person was killed while traffic was backed up.

Less than an hour after the first accident, a third pile-up occurred on the opposite west side of the highway, in which another person was killed, police said.

According to authorities, at least ten people were hospitalized.

The AP contributed to this article.