A church and family are in mourning after a car accident on Friday night left two dead and two injured from the same family. Aaron Davis, 23, of Cranbury, New Jersey, and Joshua Davis, 22, of East Windsor, were both killed after the 2006 Mazda they were riding in flew off I-95 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, broke through the guardrail, and plunged about 20 to 30 feet to the street below. Their twin brothers, Benjamin and Nathaniel Davis, 18, were also in the vehicle and were seriously injured. Aaron and Joshua were ejected from their seats, along with a puppy who was also riding in the car. According to witnesses, the Mazda was racing a Dodge Challenger when it lost control. The family has a total of five sons, with one son not present in the car at the time of the accident.

Senior Pastor Donald Hilliard spoke about the boys, stating the Davis family are members at Cathedral International Church. “I’m their pastor and like an uncle, but as a parent myself, it’s unimaginable,” he said. “My prayer was simply, ‘Lord help us.’ I talked about it on that night and I had to stop talking, tears just coming down,” he said. “I just can’t remember a time I didn’t know them.”

Hilliard shared the news of the young men’s passing with his congregation, stating it would be the first double funeral he’s had to perform. “These are our church babies,” he said on Sunday. “They were born into this church. I christened all the boys. I baptized them.” He described the men’s activities in the church. “They are the little boys that carry the cross all the time with the braids, and Joshua who passed and his older brother who passed, they carried the cross when they were younger. They’ve been involved in literally every ministry that this church has offered to raise their children,” he recalled. He called on his congregation to make sure they hugged and kissed their children with every opportunity. “I can’t explain it. I don’t understand it,” he said of the tragedy.

“I remember them being warm. Absolutely well-spoken young men,” Hilliard told Action News. Hilliard shared that the church is standing by the family ready to support them as they experience this devastating loss. “We will miss them for the rest of our lives,” he said. “By the grace of God, their parents, at some point, the sun will shine again for them.”