(Image source from: Yahoo News)

A tragic car crash in Kentucky has claimed lives of a 36-year-old father and two of his children over Memorial Day weekend, the Kentucky State Police confirms to PEOPLE.

Agustin Gonzalez, a major in the United States Army, was driving through Kentucky on Saturday night with his three children, Gwendolyn Gonzalez, 2, Nicholas Gonzalez, 8, and Noelle Gonzalez, 6, when his 2013 Dodge Caravan struck a tow truck that had stopped in the lanes to help a driver who had been caught up in a previous crash, according to CBS affiliate WKYT.

“An uninvolved non-injury collision had occurred ahead, and the operator of a 2018 International tow truck owned by Crossroads Towing, equipped with yellow caution emergency lights, had stopped partially in the left lane to assist the involved occupant,” the state police said in a statement to PEOPLE.

Gonzalez was found dead at the scene, while Gwendolyn and Noelle were taken to two separate hospitals, where they later pronounced dead. Nicholas, who underwent minor injuries and survived, was hospitalized, according to the outlet.

At the time of the crash, Gonzalez was headed to Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, Colorado, after celebrating his graduation. His wife, Melissa Gonzalez, and their newborn son, Gabriel, were on a flight on the way to meet them, an update from a GoFundMe page set up for the family says.

According to the donation page, Gonzalez has lived in Cary, North Carolina, as he studied to earn his master’s degree in public policy at Duke University. Melissa worked as a second-grade teacher at Horton’s Creek Elementary until the couple welcomed Gabriel, their fourth child, in March.

The donation page set up by the Horton’s Creek Elementary PTA has raised more than $66,000 of its $75,000 goal from more than a thousand donors in just a day’s time.

The remains of the army major and his two children are expected to be flown to New Jersey by the end of the week.

By Sowmya Sangam