A North Texas woman is facing eight felony charges after a December car crash that killed two young children and injured their mother.
According to Erath County District Attorney, Alyssa Gayle Litwin was behind the wheel when she slammed into the back of Carrie Sackett's vehicle along Texas Highway 281, pushing it into oncoming traffic.
Two children inside Sackett's vehicle were killed in the crash. Sackett was seriously injured. Two other children in Litwin's vehicle were not injured. It is not clear if Litwin was injured in the collision.
Litwin was charged with the following, according to the district attorney:
- Two counts of manslaughter, each a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison.
- One count of aggravated assault, a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison.
- Four counts of endangering a child, each a state jail felony punishable by 180 days to two years in state jail.
- One count of tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony punishable by two to 10 years in prison.
After announcing the charges, Nash warned all drivers in Erath County to put down their phones and pay attention to the road and vehicles in front of them.
"As District Attorney, I generally do not comment in detail on pending charges. That being said, it is important for the drivers of Erath County to be warned that local prosecutors and law enforcement view cell phone use that takes one's eyes off the road, even for a few seconds, as reckless," Nash said in a prepared statement. "The term reckless is significant because the law provides that operating a motor vehicle in a reckless manner which causes death, bodily injury, or puts a child at risk, is criminal and will be treated that way"
"We should all be chastened by this horrific, completely avoidable catastrophe for the Sackett family and put our cell phones away when we are driving," Nash said.