A 2-year-old girl in Houston has tragically died after she was ejected from a car during a multi-vehicle crash involving a truck that ran a red light.
The fatal incident occurred around 3:15 p.m. on US-290 near Bingle Road when a Ford truck ran a red light and crashed into the passenger side of the Toyota minivan, which then struck another car, according to Sean Teare, the chief of the Vehicular Crimes Division for the Harris County District Attorney's Office.
Teare told KTRK that the truck made an "egregious red light run" and smashed into the minivan, which contained a mother and her two children.
The youngest passenger in the minivan — a 2-year-old girl — was "ejected" from the vehicle, Teare said.
The toddler was transported to a local hospital, where she later died.
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According to the Houston Police Department, the driver of the other vehicle "showed signs of intoxication" and an investigation with the DWI Task Force is underway.
Teare also told KTRK that investigators are "looking right now into whether or not speed" played a factor in the crash, as the truck was "potentially traveling over the speed limit."
"If we can confirm that, those are some serious charges — either manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide," Teare said, adding that the charge will be upgraded to an intoxicated manslaughter if investigation shows that the truck driver was indeed intoxicated at the time of the crash.
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Speaking at the scene, Teare described the incident as a "horrific crash."
"Any time anyone loses their life on the road, it's tragic. But when you see the aftermath of a little one who's still in diapers losing their life, it adds something to it for all of us," he told KTRK.
Officials have not released the identities of those involved in the crash.
According to investigators, the mother and the older child suffered non-life threatening injuries.
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