(Click on the image for Darcy Spencer's News4 report)
A grand jury indicted an alleged drunken driver in a crash that killed three young siblings and injured their parents, the Prince George's County state's attorney said.Thomas Hawks faces several charges, including three counts of vehicular manslaughter as a result of gross negligence and two counts of causing life-threatening injuries by motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.
A warrant for Hawks was issued.
Hawks was driving at a high rate of speed on Indian Head Highway in Oxon Hill about 9:40 p.m. Dec. 30 when he struck a Honda Accord stopped at a traffic light on Indian Head Highway in Oxon Hill, the state's attorney said.
“Mr. Hawks was driving southbound on Route 210 in a Chevy Silverado while heavily intoxicated and impaired,” State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy said.
The impact from the Silverado caused the Accord to strike the car in front of it, which then hit another vehicle, police said. The Silverado came to rest on top of the rear-passenger compartment of the Accord.
Five-year-old twins Alexander and Rosalie Mejia and their 1-year-old brother, Isaac, died on impact.
The family had just gone to church, then to a buffet at Rosalie's request.
“Their lives are cut short, but for the time that they were here, they knew nothing but love and joy,” said their father, Alexis Mejia.
He and his wife, Juanita, are still recovering from the injuries they suffered. She said her injuries make it physically painful to mourn her children.
“I have five broken ribs that don’t allow me to even cry,” Juanita Mejia said. “When I cry, I cry with pain not only from my heart. Not only my heart hurts when I cry, but also my body physically.”
She will be in a neck and back brace for at least another six months. Alexis Mejia suffered a concussion.
Hawks' had a blood alcohol content of 0.17, more than two times the Maryland legal limit, Braveboy said. He was on his way home from a Washington Redskins game.
“What this person has done to us is something that in hundreds of ways could have been avoided,” Alexis Mejia said.
Hawks faces a maximum penalty of 36 years.
The Mejias said they trust in God there will be justice.
[Click here to watch the full interview.]
[Click here for Lynh Bui's Washington Post report]: "The crash occurred along what AAA regularly calls one of the most dangerous roads in the Washington region. A week after the crash, local and state officials announced that they would push for legislation to increase the number of speed cameras along the 13-mile highway. Braveboy said the Mejias have also vowed to fight for improved safety measures along the road."