Background: News footage of the aftermath of a car crash that left a mother and four children injured (KHOU). Inset: Terrance Carr (Harris County Jail).
A Texas man who was allegedly seen by witnesses running away from the scene of a car crash that injured his wife and four kids was eventually arrested — for the second time in two months.
In a criminal complaint, the assistant district attorney in Harris County said that 40-year-old Terrance Carr intentionally abandoned his injured children after his SUV crashed and “flipped into the bayou.” Also injured in the crash were his wife and four children, ages 7 months to 8 years old. According to the complaint, Carr was seen by witnesses at the site of the crash, including one woman who said she heard Carr say, “Get my kids” and “I gotta get outta here” before he fled on foot.
Another witness at the scene told police that she saw Carr as well and heard him say, “I’m running” and “I’m wanted.” She also told police that Carr “smelled of alcohol and drugs.”
According to court records and the criminal complaint, Carr was out on bail for a Feb. 13 arrest for DWI with a child passenger and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.
More from Law&Crime: Mom pretending to abandon her children runs over 8-year-old who was grabbing onto door handle as she drives away: Police
The criminal complaint said that Carr’s wife told police while she was at the hospital that she was the driver of the family’s Ford Expedition. She was treated for a broken arm and other injuries to her face that left her “exhibiting signs of confusion.” Police determined that she was not in a condition to render aid to her four children after the crash due to her own injuries.
Two of the children, the 3-year-old and 8-year-old, required surgery for a collapsed lung and injuries to the abdomen, respectively. The conditions of the 7-month-old and 4-year-old children were not noted in the complaint, but local CBS affiliate KHOU reported that two of the victims were reportedly in serious condition while the three others were in critical condition. They also noted that the 8-year-old was thrown from the vehicle. All of them are expected to survive.
The complaint noted that Carr allegedly drove the same Ford Expedition with all of the same children in the car when he was arrested for DWI in February.
Houston Police Captain Ryan Watson told KHOU that investigators saw a Ford Expedition on surveillance cameras that was possibly going as fast as 100 mph in a 45 mph zone.
Carr was charged with abandoning a child in imminent danger and arrested on March 27. He is being held without bail at Harris County Jail. His next court date is scheduled for April 3.
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