DALLAS, TX (03/28/2016) — Pamela, Bryan, and Lizbeth Mendoza died on Monday night after their mother’s vehicle was broadsided by a speeding driver.
UPDATE 04/07/2016: Xavier Mandell Taylor has now been charged with three counts of manslaughter. Taylor was booked into the Dallas County Jail on Thursday morning and is being held on $300,000 bail.
According to authorities, three children from the Mendoza family—11-year-old Pamela Mendoza, 6-year-old Bryan Mendoza, and 3-year-old Lizbeth Mendoza—were tragically killed on Monday night after a driver broadsided the vehicle they were riding in at the intersection of Singleton Boulevard and Peoria Avenue in Dallas, Texas. A 13-year-old girl in the front seat was also transported to Methodist Central Hospital in critical condition.
Officials reported that at around 5:30 p.m., 34-year-old Maricela Mendoza was traveling south on Peoria with four children in the vehicle when she pulled her 1998 Dodge Stratus up to a stop sign at Singleton Blvd (about two miles from her home). According to reports, the intersection was clear as Mendoza began to make a left turn onto eastbound Singleton Boulevard when her vehicle was broadsided on the driver’s side by a Nissan Sentra, driven by Xavier Mandell Taylor.
Police say Taylor was driving very fast at the time of collision. The impact sent Mendoza’s vehicle across several lanes of traffic. Her three youngest children were all the in backseat and were transported to Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, where they were later pronounced dead. Mendoza’s 13-year-old daughter, Dulce Mendoza, (who was in the front seat) was taken to Methodist Dallas Medical Center in critical condition. Her current condition is unknown.
Mendoza was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas after complaints of pain and discomfort; Taylor was taken to Methodist Dallas Medical Center for a broken ankle.
Police believe that speed was a contributing factor in this fatal accident, and stated that Taylor possibly faces three counts of criminally negligence homicide.
Commentary
We would like to extend our deepest condolences to those involved. Clearly this is a terrible tragedy, and we hope this family is getting all the support they can get right now.
It’s important to remember that even if you are a safe driver, you can never be certain that you won’t be involved in an accident. Speeding may seem like a small infraction to many, but the consequences of such reckless behavior can be devastating.
