CHANNELWOOD, Texas – A mother and child are dead and her other child in critical condition after she slammed into a tree in east Harris County.
Deputies said the accident happened around 9 p.m. Wednesday near Alderson and Nancy Rose streets near the Channelwood area.
According to authorities, the woman was driving a Hyundai Elantra and was speeding down Alderson Street when she swerved out of the lane and crashed into a large tree, without touching the brakes.
Both the mother and her 8-year-old son were killed in the crash, deputies said. Her 13-year-old child, who was in the back seat at the time of the accident, was taken to a hospital and is expected to survive, deputies said.
Authorities said no one in the vehicle was wearing a seat belt when the crash happened.
Deputies are working to determine what caused the crash.
“It does look like speed was a factor in the crash; we don't know about intoxication. We will have to receive the toxicology report on that,” Lt. Susan Cotter said.
According to the Harris County Sheriff's Office, toxicology results are expected to take a few days to come back.
A friend of the mother told KPRC2 the woman was on her way home, and they were less than a mile away.
"She took her kids to go get something to eat and she never made it back," said Esmeralda Ramos, a friend of the family.
Ramos said she met the family a little over a year ago and had taken them in to get them out of a bad situation.
"I tried to help her. I offered her my home with her kids and try to give them a better life," Ramos said. "She was doing really good in a matter of two months to change her life around. I still can't believe it. I still can't believe she's gone."