A family from New Orleans suffered a tragic loss when their car crashed into a tree after the driver exited I-10 at 7th Street in Beaumont early Saturday morning.
A woman died and 1-year-old and 5-year-old boys were critically injured when all three were ejected from the vehicle, and a man sustained serious injuries, according to JP Ben Collins Sr. Judge Collins says the three who were ejected weren't wearing seat belts.
Beaumont Police tell KFDM the single vehicle accident was reported at about 5:20 a.m. Saturday on the I-10 East frontage road just before 7th Street. Wreckage from the car covered a large area around the tree and on the service road. Several pieces of the car ended up dozens of yards away on a business parking lot off the service road near 7th Street.
Judge Collins tells KFDM the family was from New Orleans.
He says the driver, a man, was still in the vehicle and taken to Baptist Hospital with serious injuries. A female passenger and two young children, a 1-year-old boy and 5-year-old boy, were ejected. The woman died at the scene. The children were taken to CHRISTUS St. Elizabeth Hospital. One was flown by helicopter to Texas Children’s Hospital and one was was taken by ambulance to Texas Children’s. Judge Collins says they both sustained critical injuries.
JP Collins has ordered an autopsy on the woman.
Police blocked the access road and remained on scene for several hours taking measurements and investigating the crash to determine why the driver struck the tree after exiting Interstate 10.
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