TOMBALL, Texas – A woman is dead and her husband and daughter are injured after a crash in Tomball Monday night, family members said. Deputies said the man, 33-year-old Eric Bahr, has been charged with felony murder.
Deputies said the crash happened in the 240 block of Lakewood Crossing at around 11:45 p.m.
According to deputies, initial responding units located a vehicle that crashed into a pole with a toddler in the back seat, a male driver, who was identified as Bahr, and his wife in the front passenger seat. The woman, who has been identified as Melissa Wendt, was pronounced dead at the scene, deputies said.
Deputies said Lindsay Carlen, a witness turned good Samaritan, rushed to help the 3-year-old girl trapped in the vehicle.
“I heard the sound of screeching tires. The car just spun out on control and hit this pole,” said Carlen, who called 911 and ran over to help.
Carlen said a man and woman were in the front seats and a little girl was in the back, strapped to a car seat inches away from the light pole.
“I mean that little girl would have been gone, she would have not survived that impact,” Carlen said.
After several attempts, Carlen was able to free the child and get her to safety.
“She just clung on to me, she wrapped her arms around my neck I could barely breathe it was rewarding for me that she felt safe,” said Carlen.
Deputies said the man is in critical condition and the child is in stable condition. They were flown via Life Flight to a trauma center in downtown Houston, deputies said. The child is expected to survive her injuries, deputies said.
Deputies sent units to the hospital to investigate a possible DWI as the man showed signs of impairment, Sgt. Cheng said. Authorities said he was impaired twice the limit and has been charged with a DWI before.