3 children dead, 2 seriously hurt in northeast El Paso hit & run traffic crash; youngest victim was just 1
UPDATE: El Paso police said a deadly crash Sunday night that killed three children and seriously injured two others was a case of hit-and-run and they were in search of a driver who fled the scene.
Investigators released the new details about the crash investigation late Monday afternoon.
They identified the children killed as being a 1-year-old girl and two boys ages 5 and 6 - all of whom were not wearing seatbelts and were ejected from their family's Ford Expedition SUV.
The hospitalized kids were identified by police as a 13-year-old girl and a 2-year-old boy, both of whom had life-threatening injuries.
Police indicated all the children were members of the same family. The adults in the SUV, 28–year-old driver Juan Angel Loera and 29–year-old Raquel Angeles, escaped the crash with only minor injuries.
Investigators said the family's SUV was struck by a speeding black Lincoln LS that failed to yield at the intersection. Detectives added that two or three people inside that car fled the scene on foot moments after the crash at Titanic and Howard; it's believed that the driver was intoxicated.
Police asked anyone with information about the driver or passengers of the Lincoln to contact traffic investigators at 915-832-4400 or remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 915-566-TIPS (8477).
According to police data, the children's deaths are the 53rd, 54th and 55th traffic fatalities of this year, compared to 40 at this time last year.
ORIGINAL REPORT: EL Paso, Texas — Two vehicles collided in northeast El Paso late Sunday night, killing three young children and seriously injuring two other children from the same family, according to police.
A police officer at the scene told ABC-7 that the crash at Titanic and Dyer was the worst he had seen in 14 years on the job in El Paso.
Police on Monday said three young children died at the scene while two others were hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.
All the children were related and were passengers in the same vehicle, investigators indicated. No names or ages were released.
The investigation into what triggered the deadly collision was still ongoing as of midday Monday, a police spokesman said.
"This scene was extraordinarily difficult," the spokesman said.
A police supervisor told ABC-7 that at least one arrest had been made in connection with the crash, but could not immediately say what charges would be filed.
