HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – A young mother and her 5-year-old daughter are dead after being thrown from their car during a violent crash in East Harris County on Easter Sunday.
Tiffany Rodriguez, 25, was driving her family on US 90 near Uvalde Road. When she exited the highway, witnesses say the Toyota Prius was going at least 80 miles an hour. The car flipped several times. Rodriguez and her 5-year-old daughter Ariella were both ejected from the car and killed.
Her husband, 26, and two younger children were hurt and in critical condition. They’re expected to survive.
Update: the deceased female has been identified as Tiffany Rodríguez (25) and her daughter, the deceased child, as Ariella. Originally believed to be 6 yrs old, Ariella was 5. The other three occupants sustained critical injuries, but are stable. The adult
— Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) April 1, 2024
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The car landing in a grassy median after flipping.
“One witness stated that they estimated they were possibly going around 80-85 mph as they were exiting the freeway,” said Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. “At some point, maybe, as they began losing control of the vehicle, perhaps they overcorrected causing them to leave the roadway, leaving a long trail into the grassy area.”
Sheriff Gonzalez said neither parent was wearing a seatbelt, but all of the children were in the back seat and buckled in.
According to preliminary information from investigators, it appears the family may have been going to celebrate Easter.
“It appears that there was some new clothes that they were perhaps going to be wearing today at some point and even some eggs that they were going to be enjoying the day,” the sheriff said.
This was the latest accident in what turned out to be a violent and deadly weekend across Harris County.
“It’s really tragic when we think of what a deadly weekend it’s been around our county, and not only in terms of murders, but also roadway deaths as well,” Sheriff Gonzalez said. “It’s very tragic, especially on such a special day. It breaks my heart coming to some of these scenes and and seeing the small shoes of a toddler especially being a parent. that always hits home.”
This crash marks the 45th fatal accident on unincorporated Harris County roads, according to Sheriff Gonzalez.
“I want to be very clear that these crashes are all preventable. They really are,” Sheriff Gonzalez said. “We’re talking about speed. At times, we talk about impairment. We’ve got to be paying closer attention to what we’re doing because if not we’re going to continue to see more carnage on our roadways.”