Men Driving Drunk Kill a Woman and 5-Year Old Boy
This past weekend, the Dallas Morning News reported two different drunk driving accidents that killed a woman and a young child.
The first drunken driver crushed a 5-year-old boy to death in his car seat early Sunday, Dallas police said.
They said the second caused a pickup to flip over, killing a 47-year-old woman and seriously injuring her husband.
"I can't recall the last time when we had two [such deaths] in one night," said Dallas police Senior Cpl. Kevin Janse. "To deal with a small child like this, it's traumatic even for a veteran police officer."
The crashes happened during a Super Bowl weekend when some area police departments were already on heightened alert for drunken drivers, although there was no indication that either suspect had been at a game-related party.
Police blamed the first crash on Adrian Childs, 28, who Dallas County records say has two convictions for drug dealing. Mr. Childs was driving a Hyundai Sonata at high speed when he rear-ended a Cadillac about 3:35 a.m. on State Highway 310 near Lamar Street in South Dallas, police said. The impact collapsed the Cadillac's trunk and caused the back seat to crush Xavier Williams, 5. His mother, whom police did not identify, was driving and survived, as did two of Xavier's siblings. Mr. Childs' car was then hit by a third vehicle, whose driver was not injured. Mr. Childs was taken to Baylor Medical Center in Dallas for treatment and later jailed on a charge of intoxication manslaughter.
Nearly two hours later and several miles away, Vernie Clark of Ennis was a passenger in a pickup driven by her husband on North Central Expressway at Walnut Hill Lane.
Police said a Toyota 4Runner driven by Patricio Barrios, 63, swerved in front of the Clarks, causing a collision. The pickup then flipped over, pinning the couple inside. Ms. Clark was taken to Presbyterian Hospital, where she died of her injuries. Authorities said her husband was hospitalized and underwent emergency surgery. They did not release his name or condition. Mr. Barrios was jailed on charges of intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault.
Dallas police didn't increase their drunken driving enforcement during the weekend, but Cpl. Janse said police expected to make more DWI arrests than usual Sunday night.
"People don't make the right decisions and don't find other means of transportation," he said.
Other area cities took a more aggressive approach over the weekend, seeking search warrants to draw blood from suspected drunken drivers who refused to submit to breath or blood tests.
