SEATTLE - A Latino teenager is in jail after police say he killed five people, including two children, while driving drunk during the early hours of Monday.
Fort Worth police say that 19-year-old Eduardo González was behind the wheel of a black Chevy Camaro in the northbound lanes of Interstate 35W just after midnight when he rear-ended another vehicle near an exit ramp. The sedan caught fire and all five people inside the vehicle died.
González was hospitalized with some injuries, but none of them life-threatening. He was later released and then taken to jail and charged with five counts of intoxication manslaughter.
MedStar confirmed that two of the people inside the vehicle were children. As of yet, there is no word on the other victims' ages.
Fort Worth officers are said to have observed physical evidence that Gonzáles was drunk at the moment of the incident. "Alcohol items in the car, empty cans of alcoholic beverages, plus the odor, the smell, the speech. And the speech of the driver indicated that an impairment was present," Segura said. "His blood alcohol level will be determined once we have results from the lab."
Fort Worth police told NBC 5 that witnesses called 911 to report the crash and were being interviewed as part of the ongoing investigation. Witnesses told media that the flames grew quickly and could be seen from a distance after the incident.
There have been several road accidents near I-35W in recent weeks. On Aug. 12, a drunk driver struck and killed Fort Worth police Sgt. Billy Randolph. De Aujalae Evans, 25, was arrested in connection with Randolph's death. Police said Evans drove the wrong way up an exit ramp at I-35W and Sycamore School Road.
And on Aug. 10, a family of four was killed in a crash in Grand Prairie when their car was hit by a suspected street racer.
Amid the recent increase in accidents involving drunk drivers near the Dallas-Fort Worth area, police said the department has been devoting all available resources to combat drunk driving.
"It is too frequent, that's why we all need to do our part," said Segura. "We need to work together as a community. Talk to your family members. If they are going to go out, find a way home."
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