HOUSTON -- A Houston police officer was charged with intoxication assault in connection with an off-duty accident that seriously injured two people in a fiery wreck, KPRC Local 2 reported Tuesday.

Officials said that on March 19, Officer Ramiro Olivares was drinking before he drove onto the shoulder in the 1300 block of the East Loop North, hit a parked car and then another vehicle at about 3 a.m. All three vehicles exploded into flames.

The third vehicle had two people inside who were ejected and thrown over the guardrail. One suffered severe head trauma and the second was hospitalized in critical condition.

A Deer Park police officer came upon the fiery wreck and pulled Olivares to safety.

Olivares was charged with two felony counts of intoxication assault with a vehicle.

"(Department of Public Safety) has his blood alcohol, which was taken over three hours later, at .22, which is highly intoxicated," said Warren Diepraam, with the Harris County District Attorney's Office.

Investigators said Olivares was driving drunk after finishing a shift at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo.

"What's particularly offensive is that whenever he got off of his extra job and the time that he started driving -- there's really not sufficient amount of time for him to have gotten that intoxicated. So, the implication is that he may have been drinking even while he was on the job there," Diepraam said.

The 11-year patrol veteran was relieved of duty pending a separate HPD internal affairs investigation.

If convicted, each charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Olivares was not available for comment.