Two children and two adults killed after ‘drunk driver’ crashes into golf cart

Two adults and two children riding in a golf cart were killed Saturday when a seemingly drunk man ran a stop sign and crashed into them, police said.

Miguel Espinoza, 45, of Rosenberg, Texas has been charged with four counts of intoxication manslaughter in the crash, which took place around 11.30pm Saturday in Galveston, about 50 miles (80km) southeast of Houston.

Galveston police sergeant Derek Gaspard said that after the SUV Espinoza was driving failed to stop at a stop sign, it hit a pickup truck. The pickup then crashed into the golf cart carrying six people, all from the same family.

The golf cart and pickup truck were traveling in opposite directions through an intersection on a street that did not have a stop sign.

The adult driver of the golf cart was pronounced dead at the scene, while an a woman and two children were taken to a hospital where they died. The two other passengers, an adult and child, were hospitalized and in critical condition as of Sunday, police said.

Espinoza and his passenger had minor injuries, and the occupants of the pickup truck were not injured. The names and ages of the dead have not been released.

According to ABC 13, the family involved in the crash was a pair of grandparents, their niece and three grandchildren.

The grandfather, niece and two of the grandkids died in the crash, according to the outlet. The grandmother and one of the grandchildren are still in the hospital, critically injured.

Galveston Mayor Craig Brown said that golf carts have become ‘quite a prolific mode of transportation’ for residents and visitors to the region, located near the Gulf of Mexico.

Additional safety measures for operating golf carts will be considered at an upcoming City Council meeting, Brown said.

Espinoza was being held in Galveston County jail Sunday on $400,000 bond.

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