A driver is facing several charges, including murder, after a 1-year-old girl was killed in a rollover crash on the North Freeway and three other children were hospitalized.
Deadrian Aundre Baker, 33, is charged with murder and two counts of intoxication assault. It’s unclear if Baker is the father of the child who died. Reporters reached out to the Houston Police Department for more information.
Court records show Baker was out on a $40,000 bond at the time of the crash for a previous injury to a child under 15 charge.
ARRESTED: Booking photo of Deadrian Aundre Baker, 33, now charged with murder and intoxication assault in a fatal crash that claimed the life of a baby girl at 8400 North Freeway on Sunday night (March 12).
More info: https://t.co/jnt49FTKXQ#hounews #OneSafeHouston pic.twitter.com/vcPbdQNr2H
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) March 14, 2023
According to court documents, Baker was under the influence when he lost control of the vehicle he was driving in the 8400 block of I-45 near Veteran’s Memorial Drive around 10:35 p.m. Sunday.
Video from the aftermath of the crash shows a black Honda Crosstour smashed up and surrounded by debris.
A witness told HPD the Honda somehow lost control, slammed into the concrete barrier, then flipped several times.
Inside the car were seven people total — four children who are all siblings, two adult passengers, and the adult driver, who was later identified as Baker.
Two of the children were ejected from the car, according to HPD. A 1-year-old girl was killed, and a 3-year-old boy and a 29-year-old man were in critical condition, police said.
Investigators said the two other children — a 10-year-old boy and a 5-year-old boy– were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Baker and a 31-year-old woman — the children’s mother — were not injured, police said.
Baker was detained at the scene and a field sobriety test was conducted, police said. Investigators determined he was intoxicated and he was subsequently jailed and charged.
Investigators said none of the children were properly restrained. There was reportedly one car seat inside the vehicle, but it was in the trunk.
