One Sunday afternoon began with worship, fellowship and faith. Hours later, an entire young family was gone.
A Virginia church community is mourning the devastating deaths of Marlysha and Paul Liddell and their 4-year-old daughter, Leilani, after the family was killed in a fiery crash on Interstate 66 shortly after leaving their church in Washington, D.C.
The Liddells lived in Manassas, Virginia, but faithfully traveled to Northwest Washington every Sunday to attend St. Augustine Catholic Church and spend time with the congregation they considered family, according to NBC4 Washington.
For those who knew them, however, the Liddells were far more than three names connected to a horrific accident. They were a family whose faith was visible.
“They lived in faith, and they were a living testimony,” Father Patrick A. Smith told NBC4. “It really was a community that really embraced them, their whole family.”
Marlysha was a mother and civil rights attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice. Paul was remembered for his booming voice, which carried through the church as he spoke about his love for his family.
Then there was Leilani.
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The couple’s 4-year-old was their “miracle baby,” born prematurely and remembered for her impressive vocabulary for her age. She was preparing to begin pre-K the week she died.
The family’s final Sunday has left those who watched them leave church wrestling with questions that may never have answers.
“I relive Sunday often. I watched them drive away,” church member Monica Gray told NBC4. “And I keep thinking, ‘What if I had delayed them by five minutes?’”
According to Virginia State Police, the Liddells were traveling in a Honda Pilot on I-66 shortly after 4 p.m. Sunday when their vehicle struck the back of a utility truck carrying oxygen tanks.
A preliminary investigation found that a Toyota 4Runner and the utility truck were involved in the events leading to the collision. Police said the utility truck stopped in the right lane for an unknown reason before the Liddells’ Honda struck it and caught fire. All three family members died.
Two people were charged with reckless driving as authorities continue investigating the crash.
But statistics and police reports cannot capture the weight of what was lost.
“It’s not three fatalities; it’s three amazing people that the world has lost,” Gray told NBC4.
She also reflected on the painful contrast between the violence of the accident and the lives the family had lived.
“It would’ve been horrible however they died. It is especially horrible that it was so violent, and they were such gentle people, such joy-filled people,” Gray said.
Yet even in unimaginable grief, she found one sliver of comfort: Paul and Marlysha would never have to live without their daughter, and Leilani would never have to grow up without her parents.
For a church now staring at three suddenly empty places, the grief is profound. But so is the testimony left behind.
The Liddells made the journey to worship together Sunday after Sunday. Now, the community they loved is remembering them not simply for the tragedy that took their lives, but for the faith and joy that marked the lives they lived.
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Abby Trivett is a writer and editor for Charisma Media and has a passion for sharing the gospel through the written word. She holds two degrees from Regent University, a B.A. in Communication with a concentration in Journalism and a Master of Arts in Journalism. She is the author of the newly released book, The Power of Suddenly: Discover How God Can Change Everything in a Moment. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
