Man charged in accident that killed 3 on Beltway 8
HOUSTON - The man who caused the crash that killed two adults and one child on Beltway 8 North at Antoine Drive has been charged with three counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxicated assault.
Investigators are piecing together what lead to a fatal crash that killed three people and injured four others.
Harris County Precinct 4 Constables said the accident happened around 4 p.m. Wednesday near Beltway 8 and Antoine Drive in Northwest Harris County. In total, the deadly crash involved three vehicles and seven people.
Investigators said two adult males inside a silver Mercedez SUV were driving south on Antoine when they ran multiple red lights then struck two cars, first, a black Mitsubishi SUV - injuring the driver inside, then, a minivan, which caught fire and exploded multiple times.
Authorities said four people were inside the minivan. Two adults and one infant died on the scene. A juvenile girl was ejected from the van and sent to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, according to investigators.
“The crash spun the van around and it did catch on fire,” said Capt. Blackledge with the Harris County Pct. 4 Constables Office.
The crash also knocked over a traffic pole and caused the other lights at the intersection to go out.
Preston Taylor said he was cutting hair at his barbershop across the street when he heard a loud boom and ran outside to help.
“As soon as I ran outside, the van caught fire. We got there and got the two guys out of the SUV. Got them out then tried to get to the people that were in the van, but the blaze was too hot,” Taylor said. “The girl got ejected from the vehicle into the street. She landed on the other side of that SUV. She was young. She looked about 13."
“The passenger in the silver SUV, his ankles are broken. His feet are broken - both ankles. The driver he had scars on his head. Other than that he looked pretty fine,” Taylor added.
Taylor said he witnesses accidents at this intersection every day.
“We all started panicking and we were just trying to get to safety. Because the van was already on fire and it was going to explode and it exploded like three times. The last explosion had sparks in it, so it was a little emotional out here for everybody. A lot of people were trying to help, a lot of extinguishers. But they couldn’t take that fire out,” Taylor said.
Investigators said all four injured remain in critical condition at the hospital.