A toddler in Houston died when a cement truck fell from an overpass and crushed the back end of the Ford Expedition he was traveling in with family members, authorities say.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez announced that a child died in a “tragic incident” on Friday. Gonzalez said a cement truck went over the overpass and landed on top of a vehicle with four people inside.
The passengers included a 54-year-old woman (possibly the child’s grandmother), a 22-year-old woman (possibly the child’s mom) and two 22-month-old twins, a boy and girl, Houston TV station KHOU reported. The two adults were able to exit the vehicle after the crash and rescue the girl, an officer told KHOU in a follow-up report (below).
Because of the way the cement truck landed on their vehicle, the two adults were not able to rescue the boy despite “valiant efforts” by tow operators, according to a sheriff’s office spokesperson, KHOU reported.
The three surviving passengers were taken to a hospital for treatment and were reported to be in stable condition, Lt. Simon Cheng, a Harris County sheriff’s deputy, told CBS News.
Authorities told KHOU that the driver of the concrete truck was a 36-year-old woman who did not show any signs of intoxication. Police said that the driver of the truck tried to slow the vehicle before it toppled over the overpass and that slick roads may contributed to the crash. A witness who barely dodged the crash told KHOU that she heard “screeching” before she saw the truck fall.
Police told KHOU that the cement truck driver was “distraught about the incident.” She was reportedly cooperating with the investigation and sustained possible injuries but refused to be taken to the hospital.
The deceased child was later identified as Nicholas Resendiz in a GoFundMe fundraiser organized by his mother, Jennifer Resendiz. Resendiz described her son as “a happy, smart, and nice little boy.”
“On Friday afternoon, our family was devastated by an unexpected and unimaginable tragedy. Baby Nicolas Resendiz lost his life in a horrible, freak accident,” Resendiz wrote on her GoFundMe page.
“Although our family is still in shock, unable to process the loss of this sweet angel, we know that the days to come will be even more challenging as mom has to make arrangements for his funeral,” it added.
Police told People in a statement that an investigation into the incident is continuing.