Mom and 3 kids killed by driver who had just been stopped by police in Texas, cops say

A mother and her three children were killed Sunday when a suspected drunk driver crashed into their vehicle, Texas officials say.

The driver, 35-year-old Daniel Canada, was stopped by police for speeding and was let go 20 minutes before he is accused of causing the crash, according to KHOU and KPRC.

Names of the family members killed in the Houston crash have not been released.

Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Marl Herman said in a news briefing Monday that Canada was traveling “at a high rate of speed” when he collided with the back of the woman’s vehicle. Her car was pushed into seven other vehicles and ignited in flames, Herman said.

“This is a tragedy,” Herman said. “This is a situation of a possible suspected impaired driver who basically snuffs a family out of existence.”

The suspected impaired driver had a blood alcohol concentration of .15, nearly two times above the legal limit, according to Herman.

The mother, her 7-month-old and 5-year-old were declared dead at the scene of the crash, Herman said. Her 2-year-old was flown to an area hospital and was placed on life support before dying, the constable wrote on Twitter.

Canada was briefly detained by a Houston County Sheriff’s Office deputy for speeding before the crash, KHOU reported. He told the deputy he had marijuana inside the car and it was confiscated, according to KHOU.

“Canada was let go because the deputy didn’t detect any signs of Canada being impaired, deputies said,” KPRC reported.

He was hospitalized but is expected to survive with bumps and bruises, Herman said. Canada was charged with multiple counts of intoxication manslaughter and his bond was set at $160,000, Herman said.