A cab driver is under police custody after he jumped the signal and collided with a car killing four elderly people inside in Houston, Sunday night.
Million Zeghergis, 31, ran a red light at the intersection of Synott Road and Beechnut Street and rammed on to a Honda Civic. The driver of the car and three passengers were dead. One female passenger, Shanumati Bhatt, survived the accident and is in a stable condition at Memorial Hermann Hospital.
Click2Houston.com reports that Zerghergis is an Eritrean immigrant who was issued a Houston Cab Driver's license in May 2013 and was driving a 2009 Dodge van during the accident. The van had the phone number and logo of the Champion Town Car company.
The accident report states that the collision was so strong that both the vehicles rotated counter-clockwise. "The Honda was then sent reeling into a Ford F-150 pickup that was stopped at the red light," the Examiner reports citing the document.
Zerghergis was unharmed in the accident. He also failed a sobriety test at the crime scene, authorities said.
During Monday's hearing at a magistrate court, prosecutors said blood alcohol level of Zerhergis was measured at .107. The legal limit is .08. Zerghergis was charged with 4 counts of intoxication manslaughter.
Authorities said that the car driver was identified as Devendraprasad Patel. He was killed along with three passengers, Kokila Patel, Ansuyaben Patel and Jayanthilal Bhatt. The deceased were aged between 60 and 80 and were returning from a religious service.
He is currently being held at the Harris County Jail on $400,000 bond.
