Twins, 1-Year-Old Killed In Fatal Crash On One Of Maryland's Most Dangerous Roads; Police Say Possible DUI
OXON HILL, Md. (WJZ) — A crash along one of Maryland's most dangerous roads killed three siblings: five-year-old twins and their one-year-old brother.
Police believe the driver who slammed into them was drunk at the time.
NEW: Police identify 2 5-year-old children—and a 1-year-old boy killed by a suspected drunk driver in Maryland last night. They say there is no evidence the driver ever stopped for the family's car @wjz pic.twitter.com/QOLxDI1ztm
— Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) December 31, 2018
That driver has not yet been identified and was briefly taken into custody for sobriety testing but has since been released. Charges are pending.
The suspected drunken driver has been released; final charges pending @wjz pic.twitter.com/2gdKogUuYh
— Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) December 31, 2018
The accident happened near the Woodrow Wilson Bridge on Indian Head Highway in Oxon Hill Sunday night.
Prince George's County Police say the suspected drunken driver was alone in his pickup truck and traveling at a high rate of speed when he slammed into the car that was stopped at a light. He was not injured.
The truck landed on top of the back seat of the victims' car. Police say there is no evidence the truck driver tried to stop. They did not see skid marks at the scene.
They identified the children as five-year-old twins Alexander and Rosalie Mejia and their one-year-old brother Isaac Mejia. Their parents were injured but survived.
Charges against him will depend on toxicology tests and accident reconstruction analysis, police say.
The driver was released from police custody.
Prince George's County Police Chief, Hank Stawinski, referenced the work law enforcement officers do to get drunk drivers off the road.
"So it is difficult to describe how deeply frustrated I am because, despite all of this work, a family is suffering beyond imagination," said Stawinski. "All of this because of one individual's decision that placed the lives of all those around him in jeopardy when he got behind that wheel. It was a decision that ended in tragedy and it was a tragedy that didn't need to be."
According to state records, there have been 60 crashes on Indian Head Highway in the past 11 years.
A decade ago, eight people died there while watching a drag race.
Maryland State Police say since the weekend, they responded to at least 13 crashes related to drugged and drunken drivers, including four in Cecil County.
"We've made approximately 6700 dui arrests this year. That compares to about 6500 over the same time last year," said Ron Snyder with Maryland State Police. "Get a cab. Get an Uber. Take a bus. Use alternative transportation so you're not behind the wheel putting yourselves and others at risk."
Maryland State Police have a specialized unit targeting impaired drivers, which has been in place since 2013.
Anyone with information on the deadly crash is urged to call police at (301) 731-4422 or Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS.