HOUSTON – A 42-year-old mother died Tuesday morning after police say she was hit by a drunk driver who ran a red light in west Houston. The driver is now charged with murder.
The crash happened just after 1 a.m. at Clay Road and the West Sam Houston Tollway.
According to investigators, the woman was heading east on Clay Road and had a green light when a pickup truck coming off the Sam Houston Tollway allegedly ran a red light and slammed into her small sedan.
Police say the impact was so strong that it pushed the woman’s car across the intersection and up onto a curb.
Inside the backseat was her young child, a 3-year-old boy. Officers said the toddler was properly secured in a car seat that was tethered in three different places.
The child was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
Investigators say the driver of the pickup truck initially tried to leave the scene but was located about 100 yards away after his truck became disabled.
A Drug Recognition Expert evaluated the driver at the scene, and police believe he was intoxicated at the time of the crash.
Tuesday afternoon, Houston police said the driver, identified as Manuel Neri Mendoza, 37, was determined to be impaired.
He has been charged with murder in connection to the crash.