Both drivers arrested in collision that left 3 children dead, 2 seriously hurt in northeast El Paso

EL PASO, Texas -- Drivers of two vehicles that collided in northeast El Paso last weekend, killing three young children and seriously injuring two others, have both been arrested, police said Thursday.

Authorities contend the children's father, 28-year-old Juan Angel Loera, was drunk at the time of the crash - while the other driver, 18-year-old Luis Javier Ortega, fled the scene after the collision.

Loera's arrest on Thursday came shortly after the burials of his three children who died. He was booked into the downtown jail on charges including two counts of intoxication assault and three counts of murder.

Ortega was also taken into custody and booked into the downtown jail on three counts of accident involving death and two counts of accident involving personal injury.

Judges set bond for the two men in excess of $1 million each on their respective charges.

The Sunday night crash happened when Loera was driving with his five children in the back of his SUV.

Police said three of the children, ages 1, 5 and 6, were not wearing seatbelts when the crash happened and they were ejected and died. The two other children were seriously injured and hospitalized.

Investigators said the SUV was struck by a speeding black Lincoln sedan after it failed to yield at the intersection of Titanic and Dyer. Investigators said the driver of that car, now identified as Ortega, ran away on foot from the crash scene along with his passengers.

Court records reviewed by ABC-7 show that Ortega was charged with fleeing the scene of another crash just four months ago.

Meanwhile, other court documents obtained by ABC-7 show Loera was previously cited for having an unrestrained child in a vehicle. He pleaded no contest to that seatbelt charge in July and was found guilty by a judge.