ORLANDO, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35 ORLANDO) -
Early Monday, loved ones said goodbye to a father, a husband, a friend, and the man who kept their family together.
Seeram Matadial died last Thursday after being hit by an Amtrak passenger train as he was hauling rocks across a railroad crossing in his dump truck. The impact was so powerful, it split the truck in two and the 44-year-old man to be ejected out of the truck several yards.
"We were married for 24 years. He was the best husband and father anyone can ask for," said wife Rose Jambard. "We're together all the time, he's not here anymore, it's never going to be like before."
"The last thing we discussed was to have a family reunion," said cousin Bish Tamayswar. "My skin hair grows when I talk."
Troopers say Matadial ran the stop sign, but the family says if there was a stop light or crossbar, Matadial would probably still be alive.
"There was no crossbar there, to warn him of the train coming or nothing like that," said Tamayswar.
The family says they would like to clear up some issues about the father of four from Guyana, who loved to play cricket.
"He was not on the phone," Tamayswar said. "His license was clean and clear… he had a CDL, yes he had some speeding tickets, but in America, who doesn't have a speeding ticket?"
The Florida Highway Patrol continues to investigate the exact cause of the crash.
