HOUSTON - A second child has died following a crash on the Eastex Freeway that occurred as a driver tried to avoid a pallet that fell onto the roadway, Houston police say.
Authorities say the 4-month-old girl passed away on June 4, and another child, a 3-year-old girl, died at the hospital shortly after the crash.
PREVIOUS: Child dies, another injured in crash after pallet falls onto Eastex Freeway
The crash occurred in the 8000 block of the Eastex Freeway near Laura Koppe Road around 9:20 a.m. June 2.
Police say a 23-year-old woman driving a Chevrolet Traverse was traveling northbound on the freeway and stopped to avoid a pallet of metal debris blocking a moving lane of traffic. The debris was part of a lost load from a previous crash about 10 minutes earlier, authorities say.
According to police, the driver of the Chevrolet attempted to drive around the debris, but it was struck by a Ford Tauras. The impact caused both vehicles to spin.
Two children in the Chevrolet were taken to the hospital. The 3-year-old was pronounced deceased, and the 4-month-old was pronounced deceased two days later.
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A 78-year-old man driving the Ford was taken to an area hospital with a broken leg and cuts and bruises.
Police say neither driver was found to be intoxicated.
At this time, officers have not located the tractor-trailer truck or the driver involved in the lost load incident.
No charges have been filed at this time. The investigation is continuing.