A close friend of the Hart family believes their SUV may have misjudged the California highway at night, instead of intentionally driving off the cliff.

PORTLAND, Ore. – A friend of the family killed after their SUV went off a cliff on the California coast said speculation about ongoing abuse makes “a tragedy even worse.”

“I think Jen and Sarah [Hart] should be idolized,” said Erica Rosser, who first met the married couple and their six adopted children when they were living in West Linn.

On Monday afternoon, Jennifer and Sarah Hart and three of their children were found dead at the base of a cliff on Highway 1 on the California coast. Their other three children are missing and feared dead, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Authorities have not determined whether the crash was intentional or an accident.

The Harts had recently been contacted by Child Protective Services at their Woodland, Washington home, where they moved less than a year ago. Neighbors reported that some of the children said their parents withheld food, and came to the neighbor’s home begging to be fed. In 2011, Sarah Hart pleaded guilty to charges of domestic assault, after police in Minnesota said she hit one of her daughters.

But close friend Rosser, who met the family through their shared passion for live music, said those details omit the family’s real story: That they were loving, active and full of love.

“I don’t think you could find anybody that they’ve met that could say a negative thing about them,” she said.

“Their parenting and their partnership was beautiful,” Rosser said. “These children came from scary, scary home situations [before the adoption]. Not only neglectful but scary – drugs and guns. And to have them turn out this way, everybody who’s met those children loved them deeply and it’s because of Jen and Sarah. It’s because of their love. You can’t have a happy, smiling, abused child that doesn’t get love. There’s absolutely no abuse.”

The Hart family, according to Rosser, “celebrated everything.” She shared a video she took of the family sharing sushi with their dog, Mowgli, for the dog’s birthday.

She also shared several photos of the family to show that, despite some claims, the children spent time outside.

“Nature was their happy,” she said.

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Rosser said she doesn’t know why Jennifer’s SUV went off the cliff, but doubts she would have intentionally killed her family.

Rosser said the family often took impromptu vacations on weekends and speculates that Jennifer may have misjudged the road in the dark.

Investigators have not yet determined when the family’s SUV fell off the cliff.