UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — Charges have been filed in the crash that killed three young children last month on Indian Head Highway in Oxon Hill, Maryland.
Prosecutors indicate Thomas Daniel Hawks, 27, of Charles County, Maryland, was driving drunk after leaving a Washington Redskins game.
“We know that he blew a 0.17, which is over twice the legal limit,” Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy said Thursday. “He indicated that he was coming from the Redskins football game, and he was headed home.”
Among the charges Hawks faces are three counts of vehicular manslaughter as result of gross negligence and two counts of causing life-threatening injuries by motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. If convicted, Hawks faces a maximum penalty of 36 years.
Five-year-old twins Alexander and Rosalie Mejia, and 1-year-old Isaac Mejia of Falls Church, Virginia, were killed the night of Dec. 30, 2018. The family’s vehicle was hit from behind while stopped at a traffic light on Route 210 near Wilson Bridge Drive. The parents were seriously injured.
As of early Thursday evening, Hawks was not yet in custody, but Braveboy said he has an attorney.
“So, we expect that his counsel will likely turn him, but the (arrest) warrant is good today, so we’re hoping to get him as quickly as possible,” Braveboy said.
At the news conference announcing the grand jury indictment, Prince George’s County police Chief Hank Stawinski said there will be a DWI police checkpoint along Route 210/Indian Head Highway on Friday, Feb. 1.
“Please have those difficult conversations,” Stawinski said to the community. “Driving while intoxicated to any degree must stop.”
