5 Children Presumed Dead in Houston Flash Flood
By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.
Published: April 19, 2009
HOUSTON — Five children were missing and presumed drowned Saturday after the car they were riding in careened off the road and into a bayou during heavy thunderstorms that caused flash floods here, police and fire officials said.
“Right now we are in recovery mode,” said Assistant Chief Omero Longoria of the Houston Fire Department. “We are looking for bodies.”
Missing were two girls, ages 1 and 3, and three boys, ages 4, 6 and 7, the police said.
John Cannon, a spokesman for the Houston police, said the driver, who is the father of four of the children, showed signs of drunkenness and failed a sobriety test at the scene.
The other adult in the car, the driver’s brother, told the police that the driver tried to answer his cellphone just before he lost control.
