Drunken driving to blame, children weren’t wearing seat belts.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: An Indian American family in Texas suffered a tragic car accident last week that left a father hospitalized, and a mother and two young children dead.
Forty-two year-old Ketanbhai Patel was driving a minivan with his wife Heema (43) and two children, six year-old Ryera Patel and 12 year-old Trish Patel, in the early morning hours of Thursday near Kilgore, Texas last week. According to local news source KWTX, the Patels were struck by a vehicle that was driving on the wrong side of the street, causing the devastation on Highway 259.
The two children died instantly, and were declared dead at the scene by local police. Ketanbhai and Heena were taken to the local Good Shepherd Hospital; Ketanbhai was treated for non-life threatening injuries, while Heena was in critical condition. She later succumbed to her injuries, dying at the hospital a short while after arriving. The children were reportedly not wearing their seat belts.
The driver of the vehicle that caused the destruction is Shelby Whitney Taylor, a 22 year-old who is now in police custody. She was taken to Rusk County Jail, and was charged on Friday with two counts of intoxicated manslaughter and one count of driving while intoxicated, with bond set at $501,000.
Taylor had a passenger in her car, a 21 year-old woman, and both were treated for injuries before Taylor was arrested; the passenger was released. The Texas Department of Public Safety, which is spearheading the investigation into the crash, told media that Taylor was driving an oil field truck – a massive vehicle that could practically pancake a family minivan.
Local NBC affiliate KETK reports that the children have been handed over to Rader Funeral Home, and that next of kin have been notified and are making arrangements for memorial services. The Patel family resided in Caldwell, Texas, located about two hours northwest of Houston.
This post first appeared in americanbazaaronline.com