A Houston father was charged with negligent homicide and endangering a child Friday after police said his 12-year-old daughter drove an SUV to a man and his dog, killing them all two.
Police said Tomas Mejia, 42, had allowed her daughter to drive a black Ford Explorer in the parking lot of an apartment complex while 46-year-old Enrique Vazquez was walking her dogs around. Investigators say the girl hit the accelerator, hitting Vazquez, one of his dogs and a tree. Vazquez was declared dead at the scene by paramedics and the dog that was struck died later.
"You can not let a young child drive to a populated place," KPRC Sean Teare, head of the Harris County Attorney's Office, told KPRC.
Mejia was arrested and charged and appeared in court for the first time on Friday night.
