HOUSTON -- A driver was charged Sunday in connection with a fiery crash that killed a family of three, KPRC Local 2 reported.

Houston police said Juan Felix Salinas, 41, was three times over the legal limit of intoxication when he slammed his van into a Toyota Corolla on the East Freeway near McCarty Street at about 8:30 p.m. Saturday.

The car burst into flames upon impact, investigators said.

Shermery Williams, his wife Tenisha and her 2-year-old son, Xavier, were killed instantly, police said.

"They were just a happy little family, just starting out," said Robert Williams, Tenisha Williams' father.

The couple was married on July 7.

"She was married to the one guy that really understood her," Robert Williams said.

Tenisha Williams' mother said she tried to call her daughter at least 20 times, but never got an answer.

The family was on the way from the movies to a friend's house when the collision occurred. Investigators said Salinas swerved into the family's car and struck the gas tank.

Salinas was not seriously injured in the collision. He has been charged with three counts of intoxication manslaughter.