Toddler is killed after out-of-control cement truck crashed off Houston overpass
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A Texas family was left devastated after a cement truck driver lost control and careened off off a Houston overpass, landing on the family’s car below and taking the life of a 22-month-old boy.
Harris County Sheriff’s Department deputies say the cash occurred at around 2.30pm Friday when a 36-year-old woman lost control of the cement truck she was driving and fell from the overpass onto a family’s Ford Expedition.
Good Samaritans were able to rescue three of the family members from the car: a 54-year-old grandmother, a 36-year-old woman and one of the 22-month-old twins, who were strapped into car seats in the back.
The boy, who was later identified as Nicholas Resendiz, though, was pronounced dead on the scene, and officials could not extract him from the car until hours later, according to Click 2 Houston.
The crash is now under investigation, and deputies say a preliminary probe found that the cement truck driver attempted to slow the vehicle before it went over the overpass.
A Texas family was left devastated after a cement truck driver lost control and fell off a Houston overpass, landing on the family’s car below and taking the life of a 22-month-old boy
Good Samaritans were able to rescue three of the family members from the car: a 54-year-old grandmother, a 36-year-old woman and one of the 22-month-old twins, who were strapped into car seats in the back. The boy, who was later identified as Nicholas Resendiz (pictured left) was pronounced dead on the scene
A Texas family was left devastated after a cement truck driver lost control and fell off a Houston overpass, landing on the family’s car below and taking the life of a 22-month-old boy
The two 22-month-olds – including Nicolas (pictured right) – are seen here with their mother Jennifer
She did not show any signs of intoxication at the time, deputies report. They now believe slick roads from a rainstorm may have caused the truck to swerve.
Lt. Simon Cheng, who is with HCSO’s Vehicular Crimes Division, said that he didn’t immediately see any probable cause to support charges against the cement truck driver.
Meanwhile, the Resendiz family is now reeling from the devastating loss, and have raised more than $4,700 for Nicholas’ funeral expenses in an online fundraiser.
Witnesses on the scene said they saw the truck swerve to avoid another car on the Houston Parkway before it crashed in the intersection of Woodforest Boulevard and Beltway 8.
Raymond Romo, who works nearby, told Click 2 Houston how the truck was dangling from the overpass while the cars below tried to move out of the way.
Eventually, though, he said, the truck fell forward and landed on the Resendiz’s family vehicle.
‘We saw it when we were in the middle of the parking lot land on the vehicle,’ Romo recounted. ‘Instantly, me and my friend Joe, we went into action.’
Harris County Sheriff’s Department deputies say the cash occurred at around 2.30pm Friday when a 36-year-old woman lost control of the cement truck she was driving and fell from the overpass onto a family’s Ford Expedition
Lt. Simon Cheng, who is with HCSO’s Vehicular Crimes Division, said that he didn’t immediately see any probable cause to support charges against the cement truck driver
He said he was able to pull the driver’s daughter out of the car before he turned his attention to the twin toddlers seated in the back.
‘Luckily I was able to get out on of them,’ Romo said. ‘But I couldn’t get out the other.’
Romo also said that the driver, the boy’s grandmother, became hysterical on the scene.
‘They saw it falling, and the grandmother … she just kind of froze and she just kind of stopped,’ he said. ‘When she stopped, that’s why it landed towards the back of the vehicle.’
Those who survived were brought to a local hospital with minor injuries, and the driver of the truck is also believed to have suffered minor injuries, but refused medical attention on the scene.
Meanwhile, the Resendiz family is now reeling from the devastating loss, and have raised more than $4,700 for Nicholas’ funeral expenses in an online fundraiser. The twins are pictured on their first birthday
Meanwhile, the Resendiz family is still trying to process everything that happened.
In a GoFundMe posted on Saturday, Jennifer Resendiz, the mother of Nicolas and his unidentified twin sister, launched an attempt to raise $15,000 to cover funeral expenses.
Resendiz wrote: ‘Your prayers are much needed and appreciated. Any small donation that you find in your heart to give, no matter how small, will be a blessing for the family’.