A 9-year-old girl and her parents were killed in a crash involving a wrong-way driver Sunday night in Haltom City, their family says.
The crash happened at about 8:35 p.m. on the eastbound side of Interstate Loop 820 near U.S. Route 377, according to Haltom City police.
Police said a blue Chevrolet pickup truck was traveling westbound on the eastbound side of the highway and crashed into a grey BMW. When officers arrived, the BMW was starting to catch fire.
Officers pulled the driver and a little girl out of the BMW, but were unable to remove a third passenger, police said. All three people in the BMW -- a man, a woman and a girl -- were later pronounced dead at the scene.
NBC 5 later learned the man was 35-year-old Favian Chavez Garcia. Garcia's family said his wife and their 9-year-old daughter Sofia were also killed.
The driver of the pickup truck was flown to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth with life-threatening injuries, police said.
Late Monday afternoon, police identified the suspect as Sione Pitone Nusi, 45, of Irving. Nusi faces three counts of intoxication manslaughter.
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Officers drew blood in the hospital and said they believed alcohol was a factor in the crash.
"Based on the witnesses that had called in, his driving behavior even prior to him getting on the freeway going the wrong way and the fact that when officers got to the hospital they could smell alcohol on or about his person," Sgt. Eric Peters said.
Nusi's bond has been set at $300,000. A mugshot is not yet available, police said, as Nusi remained in the ICU Monday.
