Two separate drunk driving crashes overnight, leading to one young child dead

HOUSTON - Authorities are now investigating two separate drunk driving crashes overnight Sunday. One of those ended with a young child dead. 

Investigators are now urging people to exercise personal responsibility and not get behind the wheel after a night out. 

Just after midnight, police say a woman with a child in her car, ran a red light as she was turning left from Airport Blvd to Fondren in Southwest Houston. 

As she turned, two Houston Police units crashed into the woman’s truck, sending her to the hospital with head injuries. 

Authorities say the child, who was likely under 10 years old, was not in a child seat and was not wearing a seat belt. 

"At this time, the last update I had, the child was in good condition, no major injuries, not even any minor injuries. So considering looking at this incident, you can tell that’s a miracle," said HPD Officer JE Benavidez. 

At the scene of the crash, beer cans were visibly scattered along the roadway. Authorities say that woman is now being charged with a DWI. 

"Houston/Harris County leads the country in alcohol related incidents and fatality crashes," said Chuck Cornelius with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

Similarly, a few hours later around 3:30 AM at 59 and Fountainview, police say a silver BMW was traveling northbound on the feeder road, possibly ran a red light and crashed into a red Nissan. 

The impact caused the Nissan to flip on its roof. Inside the car, a father and a 5-year-old child. The child did not survive. 

"We’ve seen an uptick in DWI’s and crashes this year alone. Now that the bars are back open and everybody’s coming back, we’re getting busier so we need more personal responsibility for this," Cornelius said. 

Authorities say the driver behind the BMW was a 25-year-old who appeared intoxicated and tried to walk away from the crash. But bystanders intervened and held him down until officers arrived. 

Investigators say that driver could now face up to three criminal charges including intoxication manslaughter, intoxication assault and failure to render aid.