Toddler dies when cement truck crushes car after tumbling over Houston overpass

HOUSTON — A 22-month boy died Friday when a concrete mixing truck tumbled off a Houston overpass and landed on his family’s vehicle, authorities said.

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According to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, there were four people in the Ford Expedition SUV -- a 54-year-old woman, a 24-year-old woman and two 22-month-old twins -- KHOU-TV reported.

Lt. Simon Cheng of the HCSO’s Vehicular Crimes Division said the cement truck was traveling south on Beltway 8 East and Woodforest Boulevard when it began to rain, KTRK-TV reported. The truck, driven by a 36-year-old woman, lost control on the slick road and crashed through a barrier wall, according to the television station.

The vehicle then fell off the overpass and onto the SUV, which was traveling through the intersection below and was preparing to make a left-hand turn, KHOU reported.

Cheng said the truck hit the back of the SUV. The adults in the vehicle were able to rescue the 22-month-old girl, but her brother was pronounced dead at the scene.

The other three occupants of the vehicle sustained minor injuries, Cheng added.

“We tried to grab the baby initially, first and foremost. She was kind of pinned in, and I was reaching back, (but) the front seat was a little hard to get,” Raymond Romo, who witnessed the accident, told KTRK. “And he just starts yanking on the front seat. I started yanking on the car seat for the baby to get her out and we were actually able to get her out before she was pinned in.”

“We tried to do what we can,” Joe Tijerina, who assisted Romo, told the television station. “Everybody had to get together to see if there’s any way we can move the (concrete mixer). We had an 18-wheeler try to strap a chain to it, to pull it off. We had a big four-by-four dually truck. I mean, it just wasn’t budging.”

The sheriff’s office said an investigation is ongoing. Cheng said the Harris County District Attorney’s Office will review evidence to determine if any charges will be filed against the driver, KPRC-TV reported.


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