Police said an allegedly drunk man driving an SUV ran a stop sign at a junction in Southeast Texas, killing four people in a golf cart, including two children.
Police said Miguel Espinoza, 45, was charged with four counts of intoxication manslaughter in the accident at 11:30 p.m. Saturday near Galveston, about 50 miles southeast of Houston.
According to authorities, Espinoza was being detained in Galveston County prison on a $400,000 bail on Sunday. His counsel was not listed in the jail records.
According to Galveston police Sgt. Derek Gaspard, the SUV failed to stop and collided with a pickup truck, which then collided with the golf cart, which was carrying six passengers. He said that the golf cart and truck were moving in opposite directions through a junction on a roadway with no stop sign.
The adult driver of the golf cart was declared dead at the spot, and a woman and two children were rushed to the hospital, where they also later died, according to the police. The two other passengers, an adult and a child, were taken to the hospital in critical condition on Sunday, according to authorities.
The neighborhood’s residents told CBS Houston affiliate KHOU-TV that the accident was traumatic.
Donna Bekkema told KHOU, “the image of them kids won’t get out of my mind at all.”
According to authorities, Espinoza, who resides in the Houston suburb of Rosenberg, and his passenger suffered minor injuries. They were brought to the hospital before being discharged.
The pickup’s occupants were not hurt, according to Gaspard. The names and ages of those who died were not immediately revealed.
Gaspard believes the golf cart, which was hired, was lawfully running on the public roadway. He stated that two separate families were travelling on the golf cart at the time of the accident.
Golf carts have become “quite a prolific mode of transportation for residents and visitors to the island vacation region on the Gulf of Mexico, according to Galveston Mayor Craig Brown.
Brown stated that the city has previously enacted rules to make operating them safer, and that further ordinances would be considered at an upcoming City Council meeting.
Brown said, “I was out last night.” “The island was busy and there were golf carts — residential as well as rental golf carts — out all over these streets.”